Watch: Entangled badger rescued from Arizona soccer net

Sept. 17 (UPI) -- Animal rescuers in Arizona are encouraging responsible sporting behavior after a badger was rescued from a soccer net that had been left out overnight.

The Tucson Wildlife Center said rescuers were called out recently to help a badger that had become entangled in a soccer goal net.

"Badgers are nocturnal, that means they come out at night and they're running around, and somehow it got entangled in a soccer net," Tucson Wildlife Center Development Director Hubert Parker told KGUN-TV.

The badger was taken back to the center and treated for dehydration, a small cut and some swelling in the leg that had been caught in the net.

"We got it back healthy, and our goal is always to release back into the wild, and that is what we did," Parker said.

The center is encouraging soccer clubs and other sporting groups to remember to take their nets down when not in use.

"If they can take them down at night, it'd be great," Parker said.