VOLUSIA COUNTY, Fla. — Tom Scotti of Ahopha Wildlife Rescue is known for his tireless work for animals, but a growing trash problem has made his work harder.
- A simple band or piece of trash could lead to death for birds
- Around 10-15 birds have been rescued so far this year
- Wildlife Rescue: "Try to be more responsible and thoughtful"
Last weekend, he traveled to DeBary after receiving calls about a sandhill crane with something caught around its beak.
"The silicone rubber band, for lack of a better word, was very tight around the beak, and it took some effort to physically remove it," Scotti said.
Veterinarians at DeLand Animal Hospital, who often treat the animals Scotti helps, say that that simple band could have killed the bird.
"When that's wrapped around their beak, they can't ... open that beak to feed at all, so it's going to be a long, slow deterioration of the bird until they eventually starve to death," said Dr. Paige Garrett, a veterinarian.
It's a growing problem in Volusia County, Scotti says.
"We are seeing more and more cases of not only the sandhill cranes but many other birds (like) herons, egrets," he said. "I would say so far this year, we've probably picked up probably 15 or 10."
The problem is that the birds are mistaking little bits of trash for food.
"Definitely things like the fireworks, people coming to the area, leaving more debris behind, it increases from that," Garrett said.
While the crane that Scotti helped over the weekend was lucky, many aren't.
"We've had quite a few in the last couple weeks, unfortunately, a lot of them by the time that we do get them here, we are not able to help them because they are too far gone," Garrett said.
To keep this from happening again, Scotti is asking the public to be more mindful about their trash.
"Please don't throw your trash on the ground. Try to be more responsible and thoughtful of what the outcome can be," Scotti said.
