Fishing and animals just don’t seem to mix.
I have been rebuked often enough for walking my dog near a fishing lake to know to go another way.
The fishermen are worried my water loving hound will scare off the fish. I worry that she might get entangled in a line or be impaled by a hook.
Water birds can be injured in this way, and face a very uncertain future if not offered our assistance.
I’ll never forget the occasion when an adult swan arrived at my clinic, with a strand of fishing line hanging from its beak.
Luckily the people involved in its rescue knew better than to cut the line, or tug on it. Fishing line is usually attached to a barbed fishing hook, of course. Tugging on it would potentially embed the hook even further into the poor bird’s innards, or, worse, tear it inside, worsening any damage.
Fortunately for that swan, the hook was only embedded inside its beak, an area I could reach with relative ease. My only problem was preventing injury to the people around my angry wild patient whilst we saved its life.
Luckily there are local volunteers who can help when birds get into trouble.
This winter we at The Mewes Vets are raising funds for one such not for profit organisation: Rogers Wildlife Rescue.
Roger and Fleur Musselle care for around 2000 creatures each year and release as many as possible back to the wild. They work from their own home, and rely entirely on donations to fund the cost of housing, feed and vets bills.
To help them we have created our 2022 pets portrait calendar. These will be for sale from December 4th. To get your first peak, why not join us at our Mewes Christmas party?
Indulge in a complimentary mug of steaming mulled wine and a mince pie, whilst our competition judge, Haywards Heath Town Mayor, Councillor Howard Mundin, announces our pet portrait competition winners.
Calendars will be £8.00 each, and all proceeds will go to support the important work done by Rogers Wildlife Rescue.
