RSPCA: Animal charity seeking information after duck shot in face with air gun - as bird on the mend

RSPCA rescuers have saved a duck believed to have been shot in the head with an air gun, but are still on the hunt for information about the avian assailant.

The domestic duck - which had been living in the wild alongside its companion - was left with a large and swollen face wound after the air gun attack at Caldon Canal in Hanley Park, Stoke-on-Trent. The 2 April incident was witnessed by several onlookers, and the animal welfare charity has issued an appeal for information.

Rescuers were called to the canal, but the injured duck initially evaded their attempts to catch it. RSPCA Inspector Mick Darling and Animal Rescue Officers David Cottingham and Steve Wickham later attended with a rescue boat, and were finally able to rescue the injured duck on Thursday, 11 April - along with another domestic duck it had paired up with.

Both were taken to RSPCA Stapeley Grange Wildlife Centre in Nantwich. “We were really pleased to have been able to catch this duck and take him to our wildlife centre for treatment,” Inspector Darling said.

“The wound was infected and is now being treated with antibiotics and being monitored. But the two ducks are doing well under veterinary care and once they have recovered they will be rehomed,” he continued.

Although they were a domestic duck breed, the duo were living in the wild at the time one of them was attacked. All wild birds are protected under the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981, and it is illegal to deliberately kill, injure or take one - except under licence.

“This simply should not have happened,” the Inspector added. “But unfortunately, attacks like this are not uncommon - wildlife is more susceptible to these incidents simply because they are out in the open with no one to protect them.”

The RSPCA is urging anyone with first-hand information about the shooting to call its appeals line on 0300 123 8018 - quoting reference number 01244228.

The charity has also been calling for tighter controls and better education for people buying air guns in the UK. It wants everyone to receive basic safety training before being allowed to walk out of the shop.

The RSPCA said cats and wildlife were often targets of air rifle attacks, which frequently left them with horrific or fatal injuries. The charity believed these attacks were often deliberate, “by people who just don’t care about hurting animals or are deliberately targeting animals to keep them away from gardens”.