Dire warning issued (again) after 'awful' find in young native bird
If you're going beach fishing this summer, Aussie wildlife carers have one simple plea.
A certain group is again being urged to remember to do a crucial thing this summer, with all Aussies implored to be on the look out for the deadly problem when at the beach these holidays.
Anglers who don't properly remove and dispose of their fishing line, hooks and lures when fishing at the beach continue to leave local wildlife authorities to clean up the mess when it ends up doing serious damage to bird and other marine life.
In a devastating example, a juvenile kookaburra was found this week with a large fishing lure in pierced through its mouth. The bird was found while its parents were still trying to feed him.
"He was sadly unable to eat due to the lure," officials at Port Stephens Koala hospital said on Friday, adding that the bird had "two three prong hooks" wedged in its mouth and neck.
A team of vets at the hospital took in the unlikely patient, providing him with pain relief before sedating him and removing the hooks.
"He is now recovering from surgery and will be reunited with his parents who are eagerly awaiting his return," the hospital said.
"As the school holidays approach and the weather warms up, if you are heading to the local beaches for a spot of fishing, this is your friendly reminder to make sure you secure all old lures, hooks and lines and take them with you."
Pelicans, turtles, dolphins and pet dogs all caught up in beach fishing problem
Yahoo News has reported on countless cases of fishing equipment causing serious injury and harm to wildlife including a seagull photographed with a hook stuck in its mouth, a pelican that had to be rescued from a NSW boat ramp last month, a female turtle found with seven fishing hooks inside her intestines and a baby dolphin spotted earlier this year tangled in multiple strands of fishing line.
According to rescue group Australian Seabird Rescue, 90 per cent of the injuries sustained by our seabirds and shorebirds are sustained by discarded fishing tackle and line.
And it's not just native wildlife that suffer, but also Aussie pets who can get caught out, with their owners facing hefty vet bills as a result.
Dr Danielle Huston, a vet at Animal Emergency Service on the Sunshine Coast, previously told Yahoo News that fishing-related injuries in pets are very common. While more prominent in the summer months when beaches are more populated, her clinic can see up to 10 a year, at least.
In April, an inner city Sydney council warned locals to "keep their pets on a leash at all times" while walking them along a popular harbourside foreshore after a concerned resident picked up six fishing hooks at the dog beach in a single day.
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