Animal charity the RSPCA has been criticised for failing to fly to the rescue of an injured bird.
Shagufta Rasul said the bird, thought to be a blackbird, had been hobbling about on the pavement at Lockwood Bar for more than a week.
But when she phoned the RSPCA on Monday to report it, she said she was asked to keep a check on the bird every 20 minutes until an inspector could be sent to collect it.
Mrs Rasul, who lives at Highfields, said that she was unable to keep tabs on it as she had to go to work. The call handler at the RSPCA then asked if there were any shopkeepers nearby who could keep a watch on it.
Mrs Rasul, who first spotted the bird after one of her regular sessions at the fitness centre at Lockwood Park, said: “The bird has been there for seven or eight days. I rang the RSPCA, but they’ve done nothing about it.”
Mrs Rasul said the bird had an injured leg and had some feathers missing.
After calling the RSPCA, she and a friend tried to catch the bird in a box to take it to a vet, but Mrs Rasul said: “It went in to the middle of the road as we’d obviously frightened it.”
The bird managed to avoid the vehicles – with drivers sounding their horns – and made it back to the pavement.
Mrs Rasul then rang Meltham Wildlife Rescue, where a recorded message said the centre was “closed for intake” and directed callers to The Three Owls bid sanctuary in Carlisle, Cumbria, for help and advice.
Mrs Rasul said: “It’s the job of the RSPCA to go out and rescue animals. The bird has been there seven or eight days – it’s not going anywhere. I know it’s only a bird, but it’s a living thing.”
The Examiner has contacted the RSPCA, which has yet to comment.
