An RSPCA rescuer was branded a ‘soggy hero’ after swimming into the middle of a lake to free a gull who was tangled in a discarded fishing line.
RSPCA inspector Dave Grant was called to Singleton Lake, Ashford, to reports of a gull tangled in fishing line.
He said:
“When we arrived we could see the black headed gull who was tangled in the fishing line hanging from a tree in the middle of the lake.
“I swam out to carefully untangle the bird and then swam him to shore where my colleague removed all of the line and boxed him up safely.”
Animal rescue officer Tina Nash, who went to assist, added:
“Dave was a soggy hero! He even swam back into the middle of the lake to remove as much of the line as possible.”
The gull was taken to the RSPCA’s Mallydams Woods Wildlife Centre, in East Sussex, for x-rays and rehabilitation.
The RSPCA receives around 3,000 calls each year about animals affected by angling litter. Incidents include birds swallowing fishing hooks and entanglements in fishing line, often leading to death.
Water birds are the most affected with the species with the highest numbers of calls being swans, followed by geese, ducks and gulls.
Discarded line, in particular, is a terrible hazard for wildlife, particularly as it can be almost invisible.
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