Woman trolled for trying to help ibis uncovers cruel twist
An injured ibis, which resulted in a Sydney cancer-sufferer being abused online for trying to save the bird, has been euthanised after it was discovered it had been shot.
Chelsea Campbell, 21, spotted the bird visibly distressed last Thursday near fenced off train tracks in Miranda in the city’s south.
Following the persistence of Ms Campbell, who is suffering from stage three Hodgkin’s lymphoma, the bird was eventually rescued by a NSW Wildlife Information, Rescue and Education Service volunteer hours after the initial report.
But following assessment of the bird, veterinary experts decided to put the bird down due to the significant injuries it had suffered.
Ibis appears to have been shot
WIRES volunteer Evelyn Anderson-Ho, who responded to Ms Campbell’s report, told Yahoo News Australia that she had a suspicion the bird had been shot when she examined him.
“He had problematic movement in his hip area, dried blood on his body and I couldn’t see bruising or a gash,” she explained.
“Generally what I’ve found is this is very indicative of a shooting.”
Ms Anderson-Ho said without the visible wounding on the bird’s body, it was most likely the flesh had healed over the bullet inside.
She predicted the bird had been suffering for about three weeks, and had become unable to fly.
“He was very malnourished,” she revealed, with the bird unable to bear weight on its left side.
The bird was taken to Kirrawee Veterinary Hospital where x-rays confirmed the ibis had been shot.
Ms Anderson-Ho suspected the wound was inflicted by a BB or pellet gun.
“Sadly we sometimes have to deal with malicious behavior,” she said.
The bird was put down “due to the trauma” he’d suffered.
The incident was reported to RSPCA NSW where investigations into the birds injuries are ongoing.
‘Go kill yourself’
When Ms Thompson initially reported the bird’s condition to WIRES, they were informed by Sydney Trains there was nothing that could be done at the time due to the frequency of trains passing.
Distressed about the ibis’ state, she went in search for ideas online, sharing information about the bird on a local community Facebook page.
Yet she was left horrified by the response she received from the group.
“Basically the response I got was, ‘Is she kidding?’,” Ms Campbell told Yahoo News Australia.
She said she was ridiculed for trying to help a bird such as the ibis, which is often referred to as a ‘bin chicken’ – a derogatory name given due to its developed habit of feeding from waste.
“Quite a few saying I was naive to think Sydney Trains would stop trains to help,” Ms Campbell said.
The comments only worsened and “some really nasty people” began to browse the photos of Ms Campbell without hair due to her cancer treatment, she said.
“They said that ‘you look like an ibis yourself’,” the 21-year-old revealed.
She claimed one of the comments read: “Go kill yourself.”
After the post was quickly inundated with more than 50 comments, it was removed by the Facebook group’s admins due to the escalating abuse.
While Ms Campbell was upset to hear the news of the ibis’ death, she told Yahoo News Australia she is glad her persistence was eventually vindicated with the bird’s suffering ended.
“It’s unfortunate but hopefully he’s in a better place,” she said.
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