Seagulls can be a nuisance for some, especially when you’re trying to enjoy your food at the beach, but they are a blessing to others like any other bird species that we gaze upon in the sky.
“We have all experienced that horrible feeling of powerlessness at some time in our lives and sometimes no matter how hard you try, it is simply not enough and you have to surrender to the inevitable,” says the Animal Welfare Society of SA.
This is how the Animal Welfare Society of SA felt when they were faced with a beautiful seagull who had swallowed a massive fish hook that was attached to some discarded fishing tackle.
It is sometimes safe to leave the fish hook intact and allow nature to work her magic and form a granuloma (encasing) around the hook, but this fish hook was so enormous and the rest of the tackle so awkwardly lodged that leaving it intact would have perpetuated the seagulls suffering and it would not have survived the invasive surgery necessary to remove anything.
“It’s no wonder that the fishing gear attached to the end of a fishing line is called terminal tackle. What an apt description!”, says the Animal Welfare Society of SA.
“Every day many unsuspecting animals inadvertently swallow hazardous, discarded angling litter. More often than not they end up suffering terribly before succumbing to their fatal cocktail”, AWS SA adds.
We need to be more respectful of our wild species that are being decimated by a “couldn’t give a damn” minority and mindful of the dangers posed by litter.
“Having to put this magnificent bird to sleep due to some senseless persons carelessness was simply heart-breaking”, concludes AWS SA.
Picture/s: Supplied