Animal shelter closed

Helpless duck even had Silk around its tongue

The waterfowl was rescued with great effort.(Bild: Tierrettung Oberösterreich)

A duck on Lake Pichling (Upper Austria) owes its life to a courageous animal lover. In the dark, the man noticed the animal completely wrapped in fishing line. Desperate, he packed the bird into his car and drove to the animal shelter in Linz. Unfortunately, he found himself in front of closed doors at around 10 p.m., as the night service was to be discontinued at the end of 2023.

The duck was then helped at the Upper Austrian animal rescue service, as chairman Willy Schnebel recalls: "The neck, feathers and even the tongue were completely wrapped in silk, and the right foot was so tight that it was about to die." The waterfowl was painstakingly freed and the animal lover even brought the duckling back to Lake Pichling.

Fishing lines as a problem
It is not at all uncommon for waterfowl to become entangled in fishing lines. "We free around 100 animals a year," says Schnebel, "unfortunately we can't save them all. Most recently, three swans died in agony on Lake Pichling." He criticizes the fishing association and government for looking the other way and believes that there should be more supervisory bodies on bodies of water.

Lack of staff led to shutdown
"We 'thank' the Linz animal shelter for abandoning an animal friend," reads the Upper Austrian Animal Rescue Facebook page. An accusation that they are not prepared to accept. "Our core task is the reception, care and placement of surrendered and found animals. As far as our capacities allow, we also care for wild animals, 1923 in the previous year," the Upper Austrian Animal Rescue Association said in a statement, emphasizing that it is a private association that operates the animal shelters in Linz and Steyr.

The night service was discontinued "due to an acute shortage of staff", but a wild animal rescue center or municipal animal rescue would provide a remedy. The ball is in the politicians' court.