The rescue of an owl trapped in a Bunnings store for nine days before shoppers noticed it ended in tragedy.
The bird died of starvation shortly after being rescued at the retail giant’s Tarneit store in Melbourne’s west last Thursday.
Nigel’s Animal Rescue owner Nigel Williamson was called to the store to capture the animal and release it.
Once the rescuer caught the bird in his net and assessed it, he took the owl to a specialized wildlife rehabilitator, Nalini, at Boobook Wildlife Shelter.
“Nalini called an hour and a half later and said it had already happened,” he said.
Animal rescuer Nigel Williamson with the owl he rescued at Bunnings in Melbourne. Tragically, the bird died of starvation shortly after being saved.
The owl was found to be 50 percent underweight. Williamson said every second counts when an animal is trapped.
“He was less than 50 percent of his normal body weight.”
The animal rescuer, who has successfully rescued three other owls from warehouses around Melbourne in recent weeks, believed the owl should have survived.
‘He certainly should have been saved sooner. I blame the wildlife industry for this,” she stated.
“When it comes to a trapped animal, every second is essential for its survival.”
Williamson told Daily Mail Australia that Bunnings called the Department of Energy, Environment and Climate Action (DEECA), which told the store to call Wildlife Victoria on May 9.
According to Mr Williamson, Wildlife Victoria told Bunnings they could not send anyone to help and the store needed to find a professional wildlife hunter.
Wildlife Victoria, according to Mr Williamson, called the store every day to get “an update” on the bird’s welfare.
“Bunnings did everything right and asked for help immediately, but no one offered and they couldn’t give them the name of anyone to help rescue the owl,” he said.
Once buyers saw the owl and posted about it on social media, Williamson’s name was “everywhere” with dozens of online recommendations for him to rescue it.
No one was available to rescue the owl until Mr Williamson was recommended for the job.
Shoppers noticed the owl and posted about it on social media.
Bunnings called him immediately and provided him with a scissor lift and operator to help catch the bird.
Since for safety reasons the elevator cannot be used near the buyers, the rescue began at 9:00 p.m., but the bird had moved.
“The owl was in the perfect position for 30 minutes, but it had already flown away by the time the rescuer went to show the drone operator where it was,” Williamson said.
‘I then had four people search the store with staff. The owl had flown to a lower shelf.’
After shouting for his nets, Williamson said it only took one ‘swoosh’ and the bird was caught.
The passionate wildlife rescuer, who started Victoria’s first wildlife refuge, said two major things need to happen so this doesn’t happen again.
“There needs to be more collaboration within the wildlife industry, where organizations network with specialists and other animal rescuers,” he said.
‘The second is that it is necessary to introduce automatic skylights in all warehouses in the country.
«That’s when you can activate a skylight with a button to let the trapped birds out. We also need them in shopping centers.
‘Have a perch with food and water and then open it to let them fly out.’
Mr Williamson was able to save the owl once he moved it to a lower shelf in the store.
Daily Mail Australia has contacted Wildlife Victoria for comment.
After buyers spotted the bird, Wildlife Victoria said. yahoo last week that rescuing mobile birds was “complicated” as they often wander away from rescuers and equipment.
“In these situations, it is common for Wildlife Victoria to recommend a paid animal rescue contractor,” a Wildlife Victoria spokesperson said.
“The high ceilings at Bunnings, coupled with the number of people in the store, will make this a particularly challenging case.”
Bunnings regional manager Barb Mclatchie told Daily Mail Australia the store was “saddened” by the owl.
“We thank our team at the Tarneit store for their work contacting a variety of wildlife organizations over several days and following their advice,” he said.
Daily Mail Australia understands that the Bunnings store made calls every day and were never advised to leave food for the owl, but water for the bird.
