Appeal after two cockerels abandoned in Aberdeen woods

The Scottish SPCA say two incidents have happened in the same area in the space of a month.

Author: Lewis MichiePublished 27th Apr 2021
Last updated 27th Apr 2021

The Scottish SPCA is appealing for information after two incidents of cockerel abandonment occurred in the same area one month apart.

Scotland’s animal welfare charity first attended the woodland area beside Cedar Avenue in Stoneywood on 25 March to rescue three cockerels. The charity was called out to a further four cockerels left in the same woods on 25 April.

Scottish SPCA inspector Fiona McKenzie said: "We do believe that the same person could be responsible for dumping the cockerels.

“The caller in March saw a man leaving the roosters in the woods. He was middle-aged and driving a silver estate car.

“We were very kindly assisted by members of the public during both of these rescues and we are very thankful to them for their help.

“Unfortunately cockerels are not an in demand pet and can be hard to rehome. They can find being in a rehoming centre stressful. They have specialist needs and cannot be rehomed with other cockerels due to aggressive tendencies. You can only rehome one rooster with a group of females.

“If anyone has any information on either of these incidents or finds an abandoned animal then they should contact our animal helpline 03000 999 999.”

Abandoning an animal is an offence under the Animal Health and Welfare (Scotland) Act 2006. Anyone found guilty of doing so can expect to be banned from keeping animals for a fixed period or life.

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