Woman finds bird covered in blood after hearing gunshots
Heather heard gunshots while she was out riding her horse in Wirral on Sunday
A woman found a bird with bullet wounds while she was out riding her horse along a busy bridal path over the weekend. Heather Stockton recalled the “scary moment” she heard gunshots on Sunday, August 18 that “spooked her horse” on the Wirral Way.
The 37-year-old told the ECHO how it isn’t uncommon to hear gunshots in the Willaston area, however it was the first time she had found an injured animal. She says the pigeon had been shot in the wing and was covered in blood. Thankfully, she found a rescue centre who was able to take in the injured bird.
Heather said: “I was out riding my horse along the Wirral Way, near to where my horse is kept, we could hear shooting because it was spooking my horse. We rode past a pigeon and it didn’t move, so we turned around and went back to see if it was OK. I got off my horse and it had blood all over its wings. I looked and it had a bullet hole, it was like a small black circle. I wrapped it in my vest and carried it back to the yard.
“When we got back I was looking on Facebook groups to find someone who would take him in and look after him. I contacted Safe Haven Wildlife Sanctuary, which is a donation run charity, who have taken him in. They said they are not sure whether he will ever fly again, so he might now be a long term resident there.
“There have been quite a few incidents like this, this is just one that I have come across. I know people shooting birds is quite common, I ride my horses a lot but this is the first time I have come across a bird injured. I do hear gunshots quite a lot when I’m riding, it spooks the horses even when they’re in the yard. The Wirral Way is a bridal route for dog walkers, it's not good because it will spook the animals along there.”
Heather hoped by posting the incident on social media it would create awareness and show those responsible the “consequences of what they are doing.” She said: “I want people to see what happens to all the animals that get injured. If i didn't save the pigeon it would have stayed there and died. I’m shocked it’s legal, it’s just really heart-breaking to see. I'm a big animal lover so I knew I had to do something. I couldn’t just leave it. Even if I had to rehabilitate it myself I couldn't leave it."
It’s believed that shooting birds in the area is quite common. Founder of a local animal Samaritans told the ECHO how they have rescued at least 20 birds that have been shot in the last year. Corrie Plumpton, 43, owner of Wirral Animal Samaritans, said: “It has been going on for a while. We take in an awful lot of pigeons that have been shot and injured. The first was in March last year and since then the number of different reports has risen.
“Up to 20 birds have been rescued that have been shot within the last year. It’s so sad. People’s ideas of pigeons are just awful. I know some people have a licence to shoot birds, but we’ve heard of people enticing them in just to shoot them. It’s a massive issue that has been going on for quite a while.”