Rescued gull euthanised after leg rots off
Fishing line was tightly wrapped around the bird's legs, where it had cut deep into the flesh, to the extent that the right foot had already rotted off and the left foot was well on its way to doing the same.
An adult kelp gull was found lying in a rock pool at St Mike’s beach recently and was rushed to the Second Chance Avian Rescue centre (SCAR) in Shelly Beach by two women who had noticed that the bird was still breathing.
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“They brought the bird to the centre because SCAR specialises in rescue, rehabilitation and release of indigenous birds,” explained founder of SCAR, Michelle Pearson. She said a fishing line was tightly wrapped around the bird’s legs, where it had cut deep into the flesh, to the extent that the right foot had already rotted off and the left foot was well on its way to doing the same.
“Despite the poor prognosis, after an intense five-hour process and the bird going into shock on numerous occasions, its condition finally stabilised. A couple of hours later, it was drinking water on its own and even started self-feeding.
“We took the bird to the vet to determine if we were able to save part of the remaining foot,” she said. “Unfortunately the fishing gut had already caused too much damage to the feet and we had no choice but to euthanise the bird.”
She added that discarded fishing lines and hooks have been a major problem, as birds very often go through a huge amount of suffering and ultimately die. The amount of time and effort spent on damage control with birds that arrived at rescue centres and could be saved, was immense.
“If you find any mammal in distress or injured, you should take it to a local vet, where they will ensure the animal gets to an appropriate rehabilitation facility,” she said.
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