Kestrel becomes the latest victim of gun crime (From Clacton and Frinton Gazette)

Kestrel becomes the latest victim of gun crime

3:54pm Tuesday 20th January 2009

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IT IS a question of balance for a kestrel which has been shot in the head.

The bird has completely lost his sense of balance after one ear was ripped off a by a shot.

It is believed the kestrel was hit by a shooting group who were heard in the Weeley area in Saturday, though it is illegal to shoot protected species such as kestrels.

Rosie Catford at Wildlives centre in Thorringston, which is caring for the kestrel, says that a steady head is vital for the bird of prey.

She said: “He has got to have perfect balance for hunting as he will be out there hovering, looking for prey.

“He is managing to eat if we hand-feed him but he has basically got no sense of balance.

“At the moment he just falls over.”

Ms Catford reported that the kestrel seems to be improving a little, and there are hopes that he may be able to return to the wild after extensive recuperation.

Sadly, a baby muntjac deer also being cared for by the centre after it was savaged by a jack russell dog, was less lucky.

It died after being brought into Wildlives after falling victim to the dog in High Woods Country Park in Colchester on Sunday.

The owner managed to call his dog off, but the deer was already seriously injured.

Ms Catford said the deer, which was only days old, had been suffering fits and had suffered a head trauma.

Park rangers had been alerted to the situation by the dog owner.

Sonya Lindsell, the park ranger who had taken the deer to Wildlives, said: “It did not look very well. Its jaw did not look very well aligned and its tongue was hanging out.

“The owner was really upset “He was shocked that his dog would do that.”

There are rules for dog owners using the park, though there is no suggestion that the dog owner broke any of the code in the case of the young deer, she said.

Dogs owners are asked to keep their dogs under close control, keeping them on a lead if they do not respond to verbal commands, and they should not be let out of sight.

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