A young swan has been left with a ‘permanent hole’ in his tongue as RSPCA officers are seeing a surge in the need to rescue birds from fishing tackle.
Along with the swan, a pigeon was left dangling from a tree at a popular Greater Manchester park last week. The charity says roughly half of all litter-related calls last year were to do with animals getting stuck in fishing tackle.
It’s prompted the charity to to renew its calls to anglers to be responsible when discarding their kit. In one rescue, firefighters were even called to help the RSPCA.
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Greater Manchester Fire and Rescue Service and RSPCA inspector Deborah Beats, had to use ‘reach and rescue’ poles to Save the pigeon which was trapped about 30 feet (nine metres) up a tree overhanging the reservoir in Alexandra Park in Edgeley last Monday (April 17). Left dangling by one of its wings from a branch, the pigeon was thankfully uninjured and able to fly away after being cut free by a firefighter.
However, six days earlier, a juvenile swan was also rescued by Deborah’s colleague, animal rescue officer Helen Chapman, after a fishing hook with a ball weight attached, had gone through the bird’s beak and pierced his tongue. The charity’s officers had made several attempts to catch the swan, which was spotted on the top lake at Myrtle Road in Middleton.
Taken to Ashleigh Veterinary Centre in Firswood and given pain relief, antibiotics and anti inflammatories, the bird has since been re-released, although damage caused by the hook has left a permanent hole in his tongue.
It’s led to Helen to make an appeal to anglers. She said: “We’d like to thank the fire brigade and the vets for their support and assistance with both of these incidents which sadly are not uncommon.
“Fishing litter in our waterways is a major problem and it is so damaging to wildlife. Carelessly discarded fishing line, hooks and netting can have a terrible toll on animals. Discarded line in particular is a terrible hazard, particularly as it can be almost invisible and water birds are especially vulnerable.
“We strongly urge those who enjoy fishing to be extra cautious to make sure nothing is left behind. Most anglers are responsible when disposing of their litter, but it only takes one piece of snagged line to be left in a tree or dropped near the water to endanger the life of an animal. We ask anglers to follow the Angling Trust Anglers Against Litter campaign and make use of recycling schemes to dispose of their waste tackle.”
Discarded waste in general remains a significant problem for animals, with almost 10,500 incidents involving birds and mammals maimed or even killed by rubbish reported to the RSPCA in the last three years - an average of nearly ten reports a day.
The charity is also concerned about the new danger caused by discarded vapes, which contain a variety of materials and poisonous substances including plastic, lithium and nicotine, all of which can be hazardous to animals when not disposed of properly.
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