Confirm an animal has escaped (4,3)
I believe the answer is:
bear out
'confirm' is the definition.
(bear out can mean to confirm or prove)
'an animal has escaped' is the wordplay.
'an animal' becomes 'bear' (bear is a kind of animal).
'has' is a charade indicator (letters next to each other).
'escaped' becomes 'out' (I've seen this before).
'bear'+'out'='BEAR OUT'
(Other definitions for bear out that I've seen before include "Confirm - or carry from house" , "Confirm - or carry away" , "Corroborate, support with evidence" , "Confirm (something)" .)