RSPCA's rallying call to join litter pick and help animals after swan rescued in Wigan

Keep Britain Tidy’s Great British Spring Clean kicks off on Friday and the RSPCA reveals it received 2,199 reports about animals affected by litter last year across England and Wales.

There were more reports about foxes (160), deer (48) and hedgehogs (31) than any other mammals in 2024. Amongst wild birds, reports about pigeons came top (516), followed by swans (445) and gulls (383).

In one incident, a swan was found entangled in old fishing line by a lake at Rabbit Rocks, Wigan.

It was wrapped many times around his neck and into his mouth, meaning the swan could hardly move and could not feed properly, and leaving him in that condition would most likely have proved fatal.

Luckily he had no injuries, so once the line was removed, he was released immediately back into the wild.

The RSPCA’s frontline rescuers, volunteers, vets and rehab centres have also seen a duck caught in a plastic drinks holder, a fox in an old clothes drying rack, a crow entangled in a polythene bag and a seal with old netting cutting into the flesh of her neck.

The charity’s anti-litter campaign manager Carrie Stones said: “It’s distressing to see how our native wildlife is being affected by litter and we urge everyone in Greater Manchester to join the Great British Spring Clean litter pick to help protect animals.

“Our rescuers deal with so many avoidable incidents every year where animals have been impacted by litter.

“Old drinks cans and bottles, plastic items and even disposable vapes are just some of the items that pose a danger to our wildlife – including, more than any other mammals, foxes, deer and hedgehogs. Animals can ingest the litter or become entangled, leading to injuries, mutilations and even death.

“Sadly, for every animal we’re able to help there are probably many others that go unseen, unreported and some of our fellow living creatures may even be losing their lives.

“But the public can help us protect animals and avoid these incidents happening in the first place.”

As well as everyday rubbish, the RSPCA sees many animals arriving into its care with terrible injuries caused by angling litter, such as discarded fishing line, hooks and plastic netting.

Around 34 per cent (751) of all litter-related calls to the RSPCA last year were about animals caught in fishing litter.

Carrie said: “Old fishing lines can cut deep into the flesh of water birds like swans, geese and ducks, affecting circulation and causing wounds to become seriously infected. We even see birds that have swallowed barbed fishing hooks. These hazards can very quickly become a matter of life or death for them and action is urgently needed to tackle this problem head-on. It’s up to every one of us to do our bit in the war against litter.”

Discarded biodegradable food litter also poses dangers.

Carrie said: “If an apple core or fruit peel is thrown from a passing vehicle or discarded by the roadside, it can attract many kinds of wildlife – from mammals to birds – and put them in danger of passing vehicles.”