I saw this injured bird on my way into town today. The poor thing was bleeding from the neck and just sitting there, still. I nearly stepped on it as I walked down the steps. It moved its head and let out a little honk just as I walked up. I have no idea how long it was like that, but it probably didn’t have much time left.
There is no way I was just going to walk off and leave it to die. Lucky for both of us, I had my smartphone with me. I had no idea who to call though. I didn’t want to call any emergency numbers like 999, that seemed like a bad choice. I tried the number for Durrell but they were closed. I was able to do a quick search on the browser for the JSPCA and thought “D’oh! Should have thought of them first.”
They have a number you can call for situations like this, and a volunteer will come out and rescue the animal. I called, and they were there in just a couple minutes. A volunteer threw a big towel over the bird, and she was able to scoop the little guy into a cardboard box for transporting. What a relief. I was so impressed by how fast they arrived and by how quickly it was over. It sounds silly but I was feeling protective of this little bird, after finding it and calling for help.
If you have a mobile phone you might take a minute to save their number in your phone book, in case this happens to you. It’s 01534 724 331. You might also consider making a donation if this is something important to you.
I’ll just finish with a great quote (attributed to everyone from Churchill to Truman to Gandhi): “A society will be judged by how it treats its weakest members.”