Net! RSPCA urge public to tidy up netting
With the World Cup at a close and the final set finished at Wimbledon the RSPCA are urging members of the public to take the lead from their sporting heroes and tidy away their nets.
Each year around 2,000 reports are made to the RSPCA about wild birds and other wildlife trapped in or behind netting.
Discarded fishing nets, unkempt bird-deterrent nets and goal nets that have been left up are just some of the hazards posed to wildlife especially in the summer months.
RSPCA wildlife scientific officer Llewelyn Lowen said: "Netting that is not maintained, repaired and tended to regularly enough poses a serious threat to wildlife. The same also stands for sports nets that are not tidied away when they are not in use.
"Netting is of a nature that when it is blown away it can quickly entangle animals, particularly wildlife, causing them distress and injury.
“Netting such as goal nets pose a real hazard to our wildlife and sadly we get too many calls to injured wild animals that are trapped in them.
“There is a really simple way to prevent this from happening and that is for nets to be removed after use and safely stored away. When we attend a call where a wild animal has died in netting it is so tragic and entirely preventable.'
"We would ask people who use deterrent netting on buildings to ensure that it is maintained and that netting in goals or elsewhere is rolled away properly when not in use.
“Members of the public can also help by safely disposing of litter such as netting that they find littering both rural and urban areas.
“Garden netting or chicken wire should never be used as building deterrent netting and owners could consider enclosures using weld-mesh around pens and enclosures as this is harder for foxes to get into and is less likely to entangle them or other wild animals such as hedgehogs.”
RSPCA, Wilberforce Way, Southwater, Horsham, West Sussex RH13 9RS
Press office direct lines: 0300 123 0244/0288 Fax: 0303 123 0099
Duty press officer (evenings and weekends) Tel 07825 158490
Email: press@rspca.org.uk Website: www.rspca.org.uk
Did you know that there are over 800 horses, ponies and donkeys in RSPCA care at the moment? Find out more about adopting a rescue horse, pony or donkey – or other ways you can help: www.rspca.org.uk/homesforhorses
Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals registered charity no: 219099 Registered office: RSPCA, Wilberforce Way, Southwater, Horsham, West Sussex, RH13 9RS
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