04.02.13

We've continued to rescue and care for hundreds of sea birds washed ashore covered in a mystery gluey substance described as ‘sticky Vaseline’.
 

Our inspectors have spent the past few days scouring the beaches along the south coast – mainly around Dorset - picking up birds contaminated with the unidentified goo.
 

A total of 276 birds have now been taken to RSPCA West Hatch wildlife centre in Taunton, Somerset to be cleaned and rehabilitated - 257 guillemots and 19 razorbills. Quite a few of the birds were found along beaches on Tuesday and Wednesday of last week (29 and 30 January) but most arrived on and since Thursday (31st).

Less than 40 of these have died, and these mainly from injuries to their legs and bodies by being bashed against the rocks as they were washed up on shore.

First attempts to clean the substance off the birds used soap, but these did not work. Later attempts used Stork margarine and were a lot more successful.

Manager of RSPCA West Hatch Peter Venn said:

It is still early days and hard to say how the birds will survive in the long-term but the margarine is proving to be a real life-saver.

When the birds came in covered in this goop we just didn’t know what we were dealing with. We didn’t know what the substance is or what it might be doing to the birds, but obviously we are doing all we possibly can to give them the best chance we can of survival.

The vast majority of the birds were found on beaches in Dorset - mainly Chesil Beach, near Portland but also a few from Weymouth. There were also a couple from the Isle of Wight and one from as far south as Cornwall.

Deputy Chief inspector John Pollock, who has been leading the rescue mission in Dorset, said: 

The numbers of birds we have found has been quite overwhelming at times, and sadly quite a few of them have washed ashore already dead.

Our priority is to save the ones we can and get them to the wildlife centre where they can be cared for. We have been down on the beaches daily scouring the shores and trying to rescue them.

We would urge anyone who finds any of these birds to contact the RSPCA on 0300 1234 999.

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