'Short of bashing it on the head and getting fined there is nothing else we can do but feed it' - Couple call on animal charities to help stranded Blackpool seagull
A Blackpool couple have called on animal charities to help them after feeding a young seagull trapped in a yard for more than 10 days.
Marese Cooke, 53, and Glenn Rycroft, 60,of Durham Road, said they contacted the RSPCA and RSPB about what to do with the stricken gull.
The pair have been feeding it four times a day and giving it water since June 28 when the fledgling bird fell off their neighbour’s roof.
“It cries for its mother when she comes back with food for the other chick but she ignores the one on the floor.”
“It’s just a seagull and there are thousands of them in Blackpool but I can’t just sit back and listen to something crying for its mother and letting it die.
“You would have to be heartless to do so.
“But short of bashing it on the head and getting a £5,000 fine there is nothing else we can do but feed it.”
If convicted of cruelty against a seagull, an offender could be fined up to £5,000 and potentially jailed for up to six months
Glenn added: “The RSPCA told us to monitor the bird. They’ve rang three times to ask what is going on and said the parents would fly down but that hasn’t happened yet.
“We haven’t even been able to get in touch with the RSPB. I think they are only concerned about rare birds.”
A spokesman for the RSPCA said: “Unless a wild animal is sick or injured we are legally not able to move it out of the wild. We would advise in circumstances like this that the animal is monitored and to contact us if the animal becomes injured or sick.
“If anyone is concerned about any wild animal they come across they should call us on 0300 1234 999. We take all animal welfare very seriously.”
A spokesman for the RSPB could not comment on the specific case but said: “Where nesting gulls pose a real risk to public health, the RSPB accepts that measures to prevent them nesting may be necessary.
“The most effective measures involve reducing the availability of food and reducing the attractiveness of nest-sites. The RSPB favours non-lethal solutions and believes gulls should be killed only as a last resort, especially since several species are of conservation concern.”