I found a well preserved Fox road kill yesterday. It was still warm and in great shape. I wrapped it in a towel, put in a bag and placed it in my freezer. Did I do the right thing while I search for a local taxidermist?
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It depends on how long you will have to keep it in the freezer before you get it to a taxidermist and also (first) what your state laws are concerning picking up road kill. In Nc you can (as long as it's not proteceted like raptors) but you have to be able to provide the exact location where you found it. So if it IS legal in your state... if you can't find one right away.. I prefer to have them wrap up in several (more than 2) layers of newspapers especially around the "face" and feet to keep from freezerburning if it will be in there say for two months +. Then close up in heavy duty gardbage bacgs AIRTIGHT. Hope this helps.
Whether legal or not in you state, wrapping a 'still warm' fox in a towel then into a bag will only speed up the 'green belly' process common to canines. The trapped heat could cause slippage on the ears and face. Even being in a freezer it should not be bagged initially. They need to be cooled off as fast as possible then bagged and frozen. A week unbagged won't hurt but any longer it should be sealed in a plastic bag then frozen.
Glenn
Paper actually seems to draw moisture out of the skin. If you are wrapping a mammal, just make sure the fur is on the outside if it is skinned. Wrap it up by placing it in a plastic bag and remove as much air from the bag as possible. Once you have as much air out of the bag as possible, wrap it up again in another bag. I always double bag everything and have had skins in my freezer for up to 5 years with no freezer burn. It's all in how you care for the skin and don't use a frost free freezer. Good Luck. Dan Hudzik
Dan's right about newspaper.Over the years I have taken in fish after fish wrapped in newspaper that were freezer burned so bad they were almost un-mountable,even some that had been put in plastic bags afer wrapping in newspaper.This goes for animals also. Forget newspaper for the freezer.