Protect woolly-necked storks, say uMhlanga residents
Umhlanga residents urge anglers to dispose of fishing tackle responsibly after Woolly-Necked Storks were found entangled in fishing line.
UMHLANGA residents have called on anglers to discard their fishing tackle responsibly after they noticed four woolly-necked Storks that visit their complex wrapped in fishing line.
Michelle Eriksson and Russell Laing said they noticed one of the birds has a hook lodged in its beak and a ball of fishing line next to its face.
The duo tried to capture the injured bird but were unsuccessful.
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They say that the discarded line with hooks leads to painful consequences for the birds, through injury and sometimes death.
“We have four injured woolly-necked Storks in our gardens, one who has lost toes from fishing line but is in recovery, one who has line wrapped around her legs; we think she is now dead as she has not returned to any of our gardens. There is also one with a line wrapped around his/her beak, and another with a line wrapped around his head.
“Unfortunately on any day you can walk along the coastline from Virginia to uMdloti and the shoreline will be littered with fish heads, discarded bait, hooks and fishing line. It’s not all fishermen but the consequences of leaving line behind leads to painful consequences for the birds who become entangled in it,” Eriksson said.
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For Laing, discarded fishing tackle is a danger to all birds and animals.
“I’m a fisherman and I know you never leave your tackle around. It takes years for it to disappear and it’s a danger for all birds. We’ve been desperately trying to catch the stork with the hook in its beak. I have a trap set up to try and catch him. We suspect the bird can’t drink out of its beak and it visits my neighbour’s pool to drink. It is heartbreaking to see and this bird isn’t an anomaly. It has lost a lot of weight because we suspect it’s not able to eat,” he said.
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