More Seagulls shot - £1000 reward for information which leads directly to a conviction

The latest spate of shootings has left two more gulls, shot in Bexhill sometime over the weekend, fighting for their lives, with a third shot in Hastings.

Tim McKenzie, casualty care manager at East Sussex Wildlife Rescue and Ambulance Services gave the details: "One of the seagulls, which was found in a garden in Sheila Child Close, had been shot in the chest and was infested with maggots. A further gull was found in a garden in Parkhurst road and is believed to have been there for about two days. Another, which was also shot in the chest, was discovered on the crazy golf course in Hastings - it was very distressing for the tourists who found it."

Incredibly, despite their atrocious injuries all the gulls have survived and Tim said they are "amazingly resilient birds," although he does not believe the gull discovered in Sheila Child Close will survive for too much longer.

He said : "She is a beautiful seagull but is not expected to survive as half it's chest is missing. It is in an incubator on a drip and is being giving pain killers but is too ill to be moved."

One of the seagulls (a four year old female herring gull) which was shot and subsequently rescued last week by good samaritan Gloria Hennessey, (as reported in the Observer) has since been transferred to Sevenoaks and operated on by leading veterinary surgeon Alan Jones.

Tim said the injured gull is doing well but will need approximately two months to recuperate, he said: "We have been very lucky so far and, out of the ten or so gulls that have been shot to date, only one has died. Alan Jones is a specialist in repairing damaged wings and he has been amazingly supportive and given us an extremely generous discount on his fees."

In addition to the seagull shootings a duck was hit in the head with a dart at Hampden Park on Sunday.

Tim said: "This mindless cruelty has to stop and a fund of 1000 has been generated by WRAS which will be split between anyone who provides information that directly leads to the conviction of anyone responsible for these incidents."

Tim urges anyone with any information to contact Sussex police on 0845 6070 999, or Crimestoppers on 0800 555 11.

For further information on WRAS visit the website at www.wildlifeambulance.org