02 Jan Animals do the funniest things: RSPCA looks back at top rescues in the East
Animals do the funniest things; and RSPCA rescuers see that first-hand!
In 2022, the charity’s officers were called to thousands of incidents, including many in which birds, wildlife, pets and farm animals have found themselves in a sticky situation.
Dermot Murphy, RSPCA Inspectorate Commissioner from the animal charity’s frontline rescuers, said: “With our teams out rescuing animals from danger and suffering 365 days a year, we are often their only hope. It’s an honour to be able to lend a hand to animals in desperate need and we hope people enjoy seeing some of the weird and wonderful places animals have found themselves in need of our help.
“This winter we’re asking people to show their support by joining the rescue to help us raise funds to make sure we can continue to be there for animals in need.”
Here we round-up our top rescues of the year in the East:
1. That’s sealy high!
Rescuers were called in after a seal pup was found alone – at the top of a cliff! Amy Pellegrini went to Weybourne, Norfolk, on 4 January after a member of the public spotted the young pup on the clifftop 50ft from the beach near a brick wartime pill box. Amy said: “I was quite surprised to find this seal so far up – he must have just taken a wrong turn and then followed the coastal path before ending up on the cliff edge.” Amy took the pup down to the beach to a safe spot and returned the following day to check on him and it appeared he’d returned to the sea.
2. Can it!
A vixen found herself in a pickle when she got a watering can stuck on her head while searching for food and water. RSPCA rescuer Natalie Read rushed to Colchester, Essex, on 11 February after a man spotted the stricken fox. Natalie said: “The caller said the poor fox had the plastic watering can stuck on her head and was thrashing around trying to get it off; she was clearly distressed. She’d wedged herself between fencing at the bottom of the garden and must have been exhausted because I was able to catch her easily and carefully prise the can off of her head.” She wasn’t injured so she was released to bound back into the undergrowth.
3. Bodged it!
A feisty badger needed a helping hand after getting trapped in a narrow gap between a wall and a fence. RSPCA rescuer Ben Kirby went to Reepham, Norfolk, on 26 February after the stricken badger was found. Ben said: “I think he had been trapped there for at least eight hours, as a neighbour’s dog had started barking frantically at around 4am. It was clear he had tried digging himself out, as there was the start of a hole dug under the fence, but that didn’t work.” Luckily Ben and the neighbours were able to remove a fence panel and catch the badger into a portable kennel before checking him out and releasing him in the countryside nearby.
4. Purr-fect job!
It took rescuers a week to reach a trapped cat who got himself stuck down a 12ft void in a care home which was impossible to access! Visitors to the home in Norwich, Norfolk, first heard the cat’s meows on 13 June and raised the alarm. The fire service and RSPCA came to rescue him after he pushed through a tiny gap in the ceiling of a storage room and fell into a void. Dyno-Rod used camera equipment to find him and finally RSPCA rescuers Jason Finch and Paige Burnham were able to help reach him through a hole in the floor. Jason said: “This was the craziest, most frustrating and most rewarding rescue of a cat I have had to do in my 22-year career at the RSPCA! Thank you to everyone who was involved in the rescue – everyone just wanted to get him out and nobody was going to give up!” Nemo, who’d been missing, was eventually reunited with his relieved owners.
5. Snakes on a pane!
A woman was in for a ssshock when she woke up to find a 3ft-long snake slithering in through her open bedroom window! The resident in Basildon, Essex, woke from a nap on 8 October and leapt out of bed, slamming the door behind her and calling the RSPCA for help. Animal rescue officer Enola Evans went to the scene; she said: “It’s not every day you get woken up by a snake trying to get into your bedroom through a window – the woman was terribly shocked!” She couldn’t initially spot the snake and searched the woman’s bedroom before spotting the brightly-coloured reptile as she closed the window, coiled around the rim. “He had been very well-hidden, so I was really pleased to find him,” she added. The snake was taken to an expert boarder nearby and the charity launched a search to find his owner.
