A seagull was euthanised after suffering severe damage to its foot after becoming trapped in a streetlight on Saxton Rd on Monday morning, the second in a matter of months.
The seagull was noticed hanging from the streetlight by its foot on Saxton Rd on Monday morning and was visibly distressed. A similar incident happened in March, with Nelmac assisting with the rescue of the bird.
A Nelson City Council spokesperson says their contractor PowerTech, came to remove the bird and will now install spikes on these particular streetlights to deter the seagulls from perching on them.
“We will also be reviewing the design of the lights to see why and how the seagulls are getting trapped,” the spokesperson says.
Onlookers became frustrated on Monday after waiting more than an hour for someone to come and help the trapped bird.
“The fact that it took over an hour and that no one would claim it and shrugged it off, was shocking,” a woman on the scene said.
Council says, in the first instance call the Customer Service Centre on 03 5460200 so a response can be coordinated.
“We are looking into why this has been happening in this particular area of Stoke. The lights were initially installed in 2018, but seagulls getting trapped on the lights have only become an issue in the past few months,” the spokesperson says.
Council says seagulls should not be fed.
“They are only coming into more urbanised parts of Nelson to scavenge for food. By not feeding seagulls, you can help prevent unfortunate events like this from occurring.”
The seagull was taken to Victory Vets but had to be euthanised as the injury to its foot was too severe to treat.
