Rescued a seagull that had a steel string through its neck

It was earlier this week that animal lover Ingrid Cecilie Ulla was contacted by someone who had observed a seagull in the vicinity of Ålesund church. Then it had a steel string sticking out of its neck. – It is unclear how it happened. The string had probably gone through the beak and out the neck. It was a stiff string, the kind you have to use two hands to bend, Ulla says. It was Sunnmørsposten that first wrote about the rescue operation. Great commitment After finding the seagull, they made an attempt to catch it, but failed. – I posted a post on Facebook and asked if anyone had a long hoof that we could use to catch it, Ulla says. This in turn led to a great commitment to help. Among other things, a fundraising campaign was started to buy such a hoof. – I think people saw on the video how crazy it was, says Ulla. In the video, you can clearly see the string that had gone through the beak and out the neck. – Can’t believe the post about the seagull in Ålesund was shared across the country. The willingness to help also led to bird watcher Ingar Støyle Bringsvor being contacted. He lives in Sande municipality, but chose to travel to Ålesund to help. Ingar Støyle Bringsvor was contacted about the seagull in Ålesund and decided to help. Photo: Arild Hareide – I have both the equipment and the knowledge to catch such animals. I think it’s good that people care, that’s what we need. The seagulls belong on the coast, he says. Bringsvor has observed birds for a number of years. He says that he has seen a lot of strange things over the years. Nevertheless, he thinks the episode in Ålesund is special. – I don’t understand how it managed to do that and that the string got stuck the way it did. I cannot fathom and understand how it has happened. Fortunately, it does not appear to have sustained permanent damage, he says. Veterinarian removes the string After being caught, the seagull was taken to a veterinarian by Wenche Ystenes. She is one of the people who started and is behind the voluntary help group “Kelly’s hope” on Facebook. There they help and share posts about missing animals or animals that need help. – The vet cut off the part of the string that was sticking out of the neck, and then it was just a matter of pulling the other part out of the beak. But they had to anesthetize it first, says Ystenes. After a trip to the vet, the seagull was allowed to come back to the hooks at Ingrid Cecilie Ulla. Photo: Ingrid Cecilie Ulla Released again After the visit to the vet, the seagull returned to Ingrid Cecilie Ulla, who also works as a glassblower. – I have space to have birds at the glass workshop for short periods. We had it inside for two days to check that it could eat and was in good shape, she says. The seagull was also ringed before it was later released. After a few days, the seagull was towed free again. Bird expert Ingar Støyle Bringsvor tagged the bird and helped set it free. – It was a happy ending. I am very happy about the commitment that this case has created, says Ulla. She emphasizes that it is important to take care of birds. Especially now in winter when it’s cold and food is scarce. The seagull has been marked with the registration number JUH25. – It is to Ingrid’s credit that this bird was saved, so she has also been named Ulla, says Wenche Ystenes. The two say that everything looks promising and are hopeful that things will go well with the young homo. They are now asking people to keep their eyes open. – We want people to let us know if they see or recognize the registration number, so that we can monitor it in the future, says Ystenes.



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