An animal rescue group is urging the public to stop shooting ravens after a raven with a pellet lodged in its skull died just hours after arriving at their facility.
Herefordshire Wildlife Rescue has recently received several birds with pellet wounds, all of which succumbed to their injuries. Dr. Sasha Norris, who runs the rescue, described the experience of seeing shot ravens as “completely devastating,” and goes into a “short depression for several days, sometimes weeks”.
“These are very rare birds, there are 7,000 pairs in the whole of the UK. People don’t realise how rare they are,” she said.
The loss hits close to home for Dr. Norris, whose rescue has a special aviary built for ravens, where two rare birds currently reside. When birds die, she freezes their bodies to send to universities for further investigation.
“This raven came in, he or she was absolutely in the prime of life, with a really good body condition,” she said.
“They are as intelligent as primates. They get married and stay married for life, so its partner will be out there somewhere, they probably would have been getting ready to make a nest and rear chicks.”
An X-ray revealed that a lead pellet in the raven’s skull likely caused severe neurological damage, leaving the bird unable to fly or find food.
Ravens, like birds of prey, are a protected species in the UK, and shooting them is illegal.
Dr Norris said: “We do report everything to the police, to try and make a difference.
“But to be honest not a lot happens, it’s very difficult to prove.
“People are out shooting these animals, illegally. In the middle of the countryside people don’t generally see [the shooters].
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