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Fishing Line and Ligatures It is not just swans that become caught in fishing-line or ligatures of one sort or another. It must be one of the most distressing feelings for a wild bird or animal to be caught and restricted, all the while the ligature tightening mercilessly around its body or limb. We seem to have had a spate of such incidents this year: A female Barn Owl in February hanging by its foot in a tree by twine, A jackdaw in Bridgnorth hanging from a chimney by a fishing-line, necessitating a rescue by the Fire & Rescue Service, A heron in August from Hereford with fishing-line round its wing that died two days after rescue, A Tawny Owl in football netting with subsequent wing oedema, A swan and duck that both died from being tangled up together in fishing line, a duck hanging from a branch from fishing-line around its wing, a mallard duck with fishing-line around its tongue and lower bill, a heron caught by its wing in fishing-line hanging from a tree, two geese each with fishing-line around their legs, and, finally, four badgers caught in snares, one of which was dead at the time of rescue. (Apart from where stated died, all of the other above casualties recovered and were released after a few days or weeks in care.)

Wildlife the charity has treated this year includes: Ducks, Swans, Other Water Birds, Raptors, Owls, Game Birds, Corvids, Pigeons, Doves, Garden Birds, Hedgehogs, Badgers, Squirrels, Otters, Foxes, Deer, Bats, Rabbits and many other species.