ENDANGERED SPECIES: Surgery for shot rare bird

By JONATHAN MALLINSONMarch 20, 2014, 10 p.m.

AN ENDANGERED white goshawk will require specialised surgery to repair broken bones caused by a gunshot.

Picture: Meg Windram.

The bird was found in a Forth resident's chicken shed earlier in the week trying to catch food, but in visible distress.

The home owner caught the rare bird and took it to the Forth Valley Veterinary Clinic to be cared for by vet Jim Reilly.

Dr Reilly and Ulverstone bird breeder Fred Snelders believe the bird was in flight when it was shot.

``Shards visible in the X-ray strongly suggest to me the bird was shot with a rifle or high-powered air rifle,'' Dr Reilly said.

``People don't understand the importance of these birds - there would only be around 50 breeding pairs left in the wild.''

The injured goshawk has suffered a severely broken leg, which will require specialist surgery to repair.

Continued