A GULL which became entangled in wire hanging three stories up on the side of a building in central Cardiff’s High Street has been rescued by the RSPCA and South Wales Fire & Rescue’s Cardiff Central Blue Watch team.

Trapped and injured by a loose hanging wire, the suffering bird sadly had to be put to sleep after being freed and brought down from a central Cardiff building.

When a local shop worker spotted the struggling bird high up on the High Street building on the morning of Sunday, April 11, he contacted the RSPCA for help.

RSPCA Inspector Gemma Black said:  “The poor bird was dangling by his wing from a wire about three stories up. 

“Not surprisingly, he was really thrashing around in a panic. I needed to get him down as soon as possible as I didn’t want him suffering up there longer than necessary.

“As he was so high up, I knew I needed expert help, so I contacted South Wales Fire & Rescue and the Blue Watch team from Cardiff Central arrived very quickly. 

“Using their fire engine with the hydraulic ladder to ascend the side of the building, they were soon able to reach him. 

“They found that the wire had wrapped itself around the bird’s wing several times, so the only answer was to sever the wire and bring the bird down still wrapped in it.

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“I rushed him to a local vet hoping for the best, but sadly, the injuries he had sustained from his ordeal were so severe that the vet advised that he should be put to sleep to stop his suffering. 

“It’s always sad when a rescue ends like this, but I would very much like to thank the Blue Watch team for the fantastic and professional job they did in getting him down.

“I’m not sure where this lethal wire came from, but it is possibly part of some old anti-bird netting on the building. We do get a lot of gulls trapped in hazards like this. Problems can arise when netting is put up incorrectly or becomes damaged, which may have been what happened in this case.

“Birds become exhausted and are often badly injured and can sadly sometimes suffer a long and painful death from injury or starvation if they are not spotted in time. 

“Any type of bird netting should be professionally installed and regularly maintained to ensure that birds cannot become trapped behind or in it.”

To report concerns about an animal, please contact the RSPCA’s helpline on 0300 1234 999.