Bird rescued by fire crews after getting stuck on top of Liverpool City Centre landmark
The gull became tangled in razor wire
A gull trapped by razor wire on top of a city centre landmark building had a lucky escape - thanks to the RSPCA and fire service who were called to rescue the bird.
A member of the public who was in a building facing The Black-E community centre, in Nelson Street, noticed the gull stuck in some wire four floors up on a roof just below the main roof.
He alerted the RSPCA and animal rescuer, Inspector Louise Showering was sent to the scene at 6pm on Tuesday. (22 June)
She tried to free the bird with her specialist reaching pole but was unable to safely reach the bird so called for the help of Merseyside Fire and Rescue.
Two firefighters wearing harnesses were able to free the gull which looked unscathed from his ordeal and promptly flew off - leaving his ‘mark’ on the RSPCA van below.
Inspector Louise Showering said:
“He had probably gone for a rest on the roof not realising the dangerous wire was there and it had begun to dig in.
“I have no idea how long he was in this predicament but it was lucky he was spotted when he was - or he would have suffered a lingering death which would’ve been awful.
“This just shows how dangerous barbed wire can be and we would urge people to take extra care when installing fencing or security measures and to avoid using barbed wire where possible, particularly if it is located somewhere where animals may become trapped easily.
“Rooftops of buildings are often used by birds so we would encourage people not to use wire or bird deterrent netting in these areas - unless it is correctly installed and maintained so birds do not become trapped or injured.
“This gull had a lucky escape but sadly we are called to many incidents like this when the bird has not been as lucky.
“In this case as the bird flew off when he was released he promptly landed a gift on my van parked below - I guess that is gratitude for you!”
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