More than a dozen birds have been rescued from a polluted pond near a RV park in Surrey.
The Wildlife Rescue Association of BC (WRA) received a call about an oily orange substance in a pond near the Hazelmere RV Park, near 8 Avenue in Surrey, on Tuesday.
A volunteer capture team headed out on Wednesday and caught three heavily-soiled mallard ducks. Another 11 were caught on Thursday afternoon by staff and volunteers.
“When wildlife get caught up in pollution incidents like this, there are often no agencies to help or funds available to save them,” said Coleen Doucette, executive director of Wildlife Rescue in a release. “If we didn’t step in and rescue these animals, they would just have been left to suffer a slow lingering death from hypothermia and poisoning.”
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This is a time of year when staff typically receive fewer animals at the facility, but now they are having to prepare heated enclosures and bring in extra supplies to deal with the birds. WRA estimates it will cost $245 to house, clean, feed and care for a single duck for a week. The ducks are expected to be at the hospital for 10 days to two weeks, with the extra costs expected to reach at least $7,000.
Donations to help these birds and other animals can be made on the WRA’s website. Donations will help to pay for the extra heating required for washing and warm water pools used for the post-wash recovery, food, medicine, blood-testing kits and extra laundry.
Extra volunteers have also been called in to help with cleaning the birds, which is expected to last throughout the Thanksgiving weekend.
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