Fire crews rescue seagull trapped by wire from high-rise Cardiff building
A major rescue operation was launched to free an injured seagull that was trapped on the side of a building in Cardiff city centre.
The gull was hanging by its wing from a piece of loose wire three storeys up on the High Street building, 'thrashing around in a panic'.
The RSPCA was contacted on Sunday 11 April by a concerned worker who spotted the struggling bird.
The gull was then rescued by the RSPCA and South Wales Fire & Rescue's Cardiff Central Blue Watch team.
When the team accessed the bird using a fire engine, they discovered that the wire was wrapped around the bird’s wing several times.
This meant the only way to rescue the bird was to sever the wire and bring the bird down still wrapped in the wire.
After being freed, the bird was so injured that it had to be put to sleep.
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.
“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."
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