Gull put to sleep after suffering injuries from fishing line in Sunderland

An animal charity is urging anglers to take care after a gull had to be put down due to suffering injuries when it was caught in fishing line.

Firefighters were scrambled to rescue the bird, which was stranded on an island on a stretch of water at Silksworth Lake off North Moor Lane in Sunderland.

An animal rescue volunteer had tried wading out to the gull, but found herself sinking in silt.

The RSPCA asked then firefighters to attend the incident, which happened on Thursday, December 28.

Tyne and Wear Fire and Rescue Service crew members launched a dinghy to reach the bird.

The stricken gull was found to have a large quantity of angling line and a weight wrapped around her wing and beak.

Sadly, once ashore, the RSPCA said it became clear the gull had suffered a broken wing and that the kindest thing to do to end the bird’s suffering was to put her to sleep.

The RSPCA receives thousands of calls every year about animals affected by angling litter and is urging fisherman to take more care with waste disposal and follow the Angling Trust’s 'Take 5' campaign.

RSPCA inspector Helen Bestwick, who attended the incident, said: “There was a large amount of fishing line weight and line wrapped around this poor bird who had suffered a badly broken wing.

“This again demonstrates how important it is that angler’s take every means possible to dispose of lines and tackle and prevent them from turning into lethal litter for wildlife on our waterways.”

During 2022, the RSPCA received 1,245 calls about fishing litter across England and Wales. Sadly, it only takes one careless person to endanger the life of an animal by not disposing of fishing litter.

The RSPCA says anglers should make use of the Anglers National Line Recycling Scheme to dispose of waste tackle and line. For