Yesterday, on the beach, I found an injured seagul. It wasn't able to walk and was seemingly unable to fly. I fed it some bread and checked its injuries, only visible injury was an almost completely severed foot at the joint. I wanted to put it out of its misery but my other half refused. I cut off the flap of skin attaching what was left of the foot to the leg, moved it to a safer location and left it be. Going to check on it later today but dot have high hopes for the little guy. Anyone got any suggestions other than call a wildlife center (they won't be interested) or take it home and put it in a box for a few days (not currently possible). Many thanks.
Leg amputation.
- Thread starter Guy
- Start date
This, and also considering the fact there's currently a particularly virulent strain of avian influenza wiping out European seabird colonies it would be EXTREMELY wise (and potentially lifesaving) for you not to handle sick or injured seabirds.
I would be surprised if the seagull is still there when you return to the beach tomorrow. To me, your mistake was not calling a local vet / wildlife center when you came across the animal initially. You seem to suggest that these groups would not be interested in helping, and I wonder if this is an assumption you are making, or if you have had a past experience with these groups which has led you to predict their behavior in this way. Of course, your assumption that these groups would not be interested in helping the animal may be based on cultural differences-- I am from Massachusetts, and here I know of several local groups (including pet veterinarians) which help injured birds who are spotted in the wild (this may be rarer outside of the United States, however).
Still, I think it would be worthwhile to give these groups a call, even if there was only a small chance they agreed to help you. After all, if you called for help, you would have a chance of receiving help, and you would not face any additional risks (unless you consider a phone call a risk). But if you did not call for help, you would not have a chance of receiving help, and you would still face zero additional significant risks.
Because neither situation causes you to face any significant risks, and because one of the situations may cause you to experience a benefit, it would logically make sense to go for the situation which may lead to that benefit every time.
The wildlife centre would’ve done one of two things. Taken it in, or ask you to take it to a vet. The vets would then assess its health and bird flu risk and decide whether the kindest thing to do is to put it down, or rehabilitate it. Just call a vet before and tell them you’ve got the bird and we’re recommended by a wildlife aid to bring it to them, they’ll accept it.
Wildlife rescues generally do not deal in medical issues, they take the animals on for rehabilitation after they have been medically helped at a veterinarians. About 2 weeks ago a wood pigeon in my garden was injured by my cat, I called the wildlife rescue and they said the vet would take it and if it could be patched up, the vet would then contact the wildlife aid when medical attention was no longer required. They did all this despite bird flu in my area. In the UK (I see you’re in England), vets legally have to accept wildlife.
You REALLY should have called a vet, at worst they’d have put it out of its misery, at best they’d have ensured the wound wasn’t infected and then transferred it to a wildlife rescue for rehabilitation. Most gull species, including European herring gulls, are in decline after all. They’d have wanted to help.
I suspect given what you’ve stated about chopping off its leg and then leaving it, it was either taken by a fox, died of shock, eaten by other gulls or (hopefully) taken to a vet by another member of the public.
Please in the future though just take it to a professional rather than deciding they won’t help without even trying to contact. They would have. You may have meant well but the gull was arguably in a worse state after you found it that it was before.
Wildlife rescues generally do not deal in medical issues, they take the animals on for rehabilitation after they have been medically helped at a veterinarians. About 2 weeks ago a wood pigeon in my garden was injured by my cat, I called the wildlife rescue and they said the vet would take it and if it could be patched up, the vet would then contact the wildlife aid when medical attention was no longer required. They did all this despite bird flu in my area. In the UK (I see you’re in England), vets legally have to accept wildlife.
You REALLY should have called a vet, at worst they’d have put it out of its misery, at best they’d have ensured the wound wasn’t infected and then transferred it to a wildlife rescue for rehabilitation. Most gull species, including European herring gulls, are in decline after all. They’d have wanted to help.
I suspect given what you’ve stated about chopping off its leg and then leaving it, it was either taken by a fox, died of shock, eaten by other gulls or (hopefully) taken to a vet by another member of the public.
Please in the future though just take it to a professional rather than deciding they won’t help without even trying to contact. They would have. You may have meant well but the gull was arguably in a worse state after you found it that it was before.
it was honestly not as bad as it sounds, it was hanging on by a flap. I'm not saying saying you are wrong but it felt wrong just leaving it there. Way I saw it, it was damned if I didn't, probably damned if I did.
I did consider that but as a poultry keeper it didn't seem to have any of the signs I would expect. Obviously not foolproof but it seems worth the risk if there was any chance of helping it.
Last edited by a moderator:
I simply didn't have faith that I would get help to be honest with you. In hindsight this was really stupid, i had nothing to lose. Then I guess the kind of weirdo that thinks its a good idea to preform a surgical procedure on a seagul probably doesn't have a very normal train of thought. Next time I will contact someone for sure. I seem to come across lots of animals that need help, normally close to home and I stick them in a cardboard box with some food and water until they can go free. Has never failed. This time I couldn't do that and I guess I should have reached out to someone for help but the last 2 times I have asked for help they just put them down. Really made me lose faith BUT yesterday I even thought I should put it down myself so I was a fool for not calling.
Lafone
Well-Known Member
Vets will sometimes put an animal down if it is injured but it’s usually for a good reason.
You did try and help when lots of people wouldn’t have bothered and that was a kind thing to do.
It’s always best however to involve someone professionally qualified to help if you can. It might not change the end in itself but it could save a lot of pain and anxiety for the animal. Even if you handle poultry and so probably know more than the average Joe I still think best to call up and see what happens vs trying to do any form of surgery.
It is not unusual to see a gull with only one leg. They seem to survive OK.
Yes, i've seen plenty in the wild. They seem to do well, and just hop around on one leg which they seem to not have a problem with.
Most wildlife centers in the US will not take gulls - most gulls tend to be rather disease-ridden with high parasite loads due to their scavenging habits. Rehabbers just don't want to deal with them because of it; most of our gulls are not under much threat and so all the less reason to bring them in. With the high chances of bird flu on top of that, I highly doubt they'd have been willing to take a gull currently.