Distressing footage has shown several birds trapped in netting above a pub in Cardiff city centre. The footage, which shows the roof of the Glassworks pub in Wharton Street, was captured on Friday, July 29. At least four birds appear to be dead or seriously injured in the footage.
The pub is owned by the Greene King group which said the birds were freed as soon as the incident was brought to its attention. RSPB Cymru posted the footage on twitter, urging the pub to remove the netting, but Greene King said the netting was not owned by it.
A spokesperson for the pub said the netting enclosed a lightwell which was shared by a number of tenants and was in place to stop pigeons roosting and waste coming into contact with the kitchen. It said the netting had recently become damaged which caused the birds to be trapped. You can get more Cardiff news and other story updates straight to your inbox by subscribing to our newsletters here.
Read more: All the changes and additions to Cardiff you may have missed during lockdown
In its post, the RSPB said, "We’re concerned by this video sent by a member of the public showing the use of netting at the @greeneking Glassworks Pub in Cardiff. It's an offence to intentionally kill, injure or take any wild bird. Please do the right thing and #TakeItDown”
The video was taken by a member of the public who then shared it with the RSPB. The roof of the building cannot be seen from the street level and the video appears to have been taken from another, nearby building. The birds have now been removed from the netting. You can read more stories about Cardiff here.
A spokesperson for The Glassworks said: “As soon as this matter was brought to our attention on Friday the trapped birds were freed that same evening. The netting is not owned by us and encloses a lightwell shared by a number of tenants. We are in contact with RSPB Cymru and have explained the netting is not meant to trap birds but is there to stop pigeons roosting in the lightwell and their subsequent waste coming into close contact with air ducts linked to the pub’s kitchen. The netting had become damaged very recently which is why some birds were trapped and repairs are being arranged to take place as soon as possible.”
An RSPB Cymru spokesperson said: "We’re concerned to see the use of netting on the rooftop of the Glassworks pub in Cardiff and we share the horror of the public in seeing dead and dying birds trapped in the net. We are so grateful that so many members of the public who are concerned about cruelty to wildlife reached out to us to raise this issue.
"In the last 50 years in the UK we have lost 38 million birds and we need to be doing everything to reverse this decline. We have spoken to Greene King, the owner of Glassworks who have reassured us that the landlord is looking into the matter urgently. If such action is deemed vital, we would urge all parties involved to look at alternatives that pose less risk to wildlife. Shrouding buildings in dangerous nets can never be the answer."
READ NEXT:
- Mystery as Welsh road is seen covered in dead seagulls
- Increased snake sightings on Bridgend beaches after heatwave
- My Welsh wine business is moving to France due to Brexit and soaring costs'
- The amazing little Welsh island with sandy beaches visitors share with beautiful wild ponies
- Dead birds fall from the sky and rain down on cars
