‘Some people have tried to tape up wings’ Warning over helping injured wildlife

Members of the public are inadvertently putting injured wildlife at risk by attempting to treat them on their own, Scotland’s animal welfare charity has warned.

The Scottish SPCA has had reports of untrained people taking home and trying to care for a range of wildlife including foxes, fawns and birds. In the worst cases, animals have had to be put to sleep because they did not get proper treatment sooner.

One incident in Glasgow involved someone taking a fawn home and keeping it overnight. The person called the society’s animal helpline but did not heed the advice to return the fawn to where they found it.

The young deer was fed cow’s milk which could cause gut upset which can result in more serious, life-threatening issues. Another case involving a fawn being taken home and wrapped up in dog blankets. When the society’s animal rescue officer arrived it was having seizures due to the amount of stress it was caused.

In other instances, people have been taking home cubs and adult foxes and attempting to rear them. One person kept a young fox in a shed for three months until it was too much to cope with and then contacted the charity helpline. By then it was not safe for the fox to be released back to the wild.

Mike Flynn, the Scottish SPCA’s chief superintendent, said: “By no means do we think people do this maliciously or with intent to harm these animals but unfortunately by trying to care for them they are doing more harm than good.

“People need to remember that these are wild animals and any interaction with humans is incredibly stressful for them. Fawns and deer in particular suffer from extreme stress and can pass away from shock.

“Often people will feed the animals the incorrect diet and this will lead to intestinal problems and can lead to the animal passing away.

“We have experienced many incidents of birds being taken home by members of the public. Some people have tried to tape up wings resulting in a maggot infestation, others have tried to feed birds paracetamol.

“A hedgehog was brought to us with serious injuries to its face after being caught by a garden strimmer. The person kept it for two or three weeks and tried to give it antibiotics prescribed from the vet. Sadly, when it arrived in to our care it had to be put to sleep.

“We would ask that the public do not try and take matters in to their own hands. In the first instance people should check our website for advice and if they’d still like to speak to someone, call our animal helpline for information.”