Mallard saved from petrol spill

Rescue

This poor mallard had a VERY lucky escape...

Late last week, a member of the public alerted us to a horrible scene in Worplesdon, near Guildford. A pollutant spill (thought to be petrol) had contaminated a local waterway, leaving a female mallard and her ducklings dead and this male struggling for life. Luckily, Pat, one of our rescuers, was soon on scene and brought this poor boy into the centre.

Rehabilitation

Removing something like this from feathers is not an easy task. The process requires several washes and, as the detergents used can reduce the waterproofing of the feathers, it is always a fine balance between speed and ensuring stress and damage is kept to an absolute minimum. After several rounds of washing and drying, we're happy to say that we are winning the battle and he is doing much better.

[Please note, due to increased risks of avian influenza this year, this procedure was conducted using full-body PPE and after a full assessment for any clinical signs]