Mikayla Raines, founder of the well-known Save A Fox Rescue, and a leading animal rights activist with her own YouTube channel, died by suicide, which was announced by her husband Ethan Raines, in a video shared by the nonprofit on its official YouTube and Instagram accounts.
Raines, 29, was the founder of Save A Fox, a Minnesota based rescue that gives a second chance to captive born foxes, mainly coming from fur farms or who were surrendered by former pet owners. Since beginning in 2017, the organization rescued and cared for over 150 foxes. Raines grew an online following for her rescue efforts, accumulating millions of views on videos showcasing the lives of the foxes she was able to save.
In the video announcing her death, Ethan Raines said that Mikayla had been suffering with extremely serious mental health problems for several years. She had diagnoses of depression, autism, and borderline personality disorder. Although she received treatment, including therapy and medication, she continued to struggle profoundly.
Ethan also addressed the emotional drain of online harassment. He said Mikayla was routinely attacked and misunderstood and received ongoing hateful comments, including from others in animal rescue. These kinds of attacks took a toll on her mental health, he explained; it was especially difficult to deal with the fact that she cared so much for animals, trying to help them with everything she had - but did not receive very much compassion or empathy in return.
Ethan stated that Mikayla suffocated under pressure in her last months. She was rescuing animals and running Save A Fox, yet the stress became unbearable. He stated she made it to the threshold of dealing with so much hurt, she didn't think she could manage any longer.
In his video, Ethan asked contributors to improve their behavior towards others and to do so, especially online. He said hurtful comments and lies can hurt folks that are already hurting, and the mental health needs to have more awareness and sensitivity to it.
As one of the most widely-known fox sanctuaries in the U.S., Ethan says he is dedicated to ensuring her legacy endures. Ethan also continues to reach out to the community to financially support the continuing operations of the non-profit, and to ensure the safety of all the animals Mikayla fought her whole life to save.
The coverage of the death has also raised awareness around the pressures of being publicly recognized in animal welfare and the necessity of mental health support.
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