Injured green pigeon in rehabilitation
The bird had gastritis, was overweight, and dehydrated.
Mary Moffat of the mid-South Coast, also well-known as ‘the local bird lady’, recently took in an injured green pigeon to rehabilitate.
The indigenous wild bird was handed over to her by Scottburgh Veterinary Clinic a few days ago.
On examination, it was discovered that the bird had gastritis, was overweight, and dehydrated. She said that it also has poor eyesight, likely as a result of a poor diet.
“It appears that someone tried to hand-rear this bird and keep it as a pet,” said Mary.
“It must be stressed that it is illegal to keep indigenous birds as pets, and it carries a hefty fine.”
Mary also said that the bird had its feathers clipped so short on one wing that it resulted in the wing bed being damaged.
“This would have caused an enormous amount of pain to the poor bird. This kind of cruelty cannot be tolerated.”
She explained that these types of birds live in family groups and forage in trees. Their diet consists of mainly fruits and nuts.
“They mate for life, and though not in immediate danger, their numbers are decreasing. Also, we need to be mindful of the harm we can do by trying to help without adequate knowledge,” she added.
Should anyone come across an injured bird or find baby birds, take them to registered rehabilitation centres such as CROW (031 462 1127) or to the local vet.
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