Katharina Steele, Somerset West
The other day, on my usual walk with my dogs at Radloff Park, my mother and I heard a duck in distress.
We found a duckling hanging off a bush on the side of the river, stuck with a fishing hook in its throat that was attached to tree debris.
The parents of the baby duck were frantically flapping their wings in attempt to save it.
My mother ran off to try get the dogs away while I swam in and untangled the coil from the branch.
When on the river bank, I unhooked the hook that I found was sticking right through the duckling’s beak.
Please can this be a wake-up call to anyone who goes fishing anywhere.
If you aren’t responsible for the equipment you use and don’t make sure to take it all home with you, then you shouldn’t fish at all.
The rubbish you leave behind all has an effect on our environment. You should, not only when fishing, always consider what you leave behind and what you buy, and consider the damage it will cause.
If you are interested to what happened to the duckling, it was fine and was safely returned to its parents.
I hope everyone will become aware to what is happening all around the world, and that this poor duck was, and will not be the last animal to suffer by our carelessness.
