Wild sparrow found with wings taped together in Hong Kong.
A resident of To Kwa Wan discovered a wild sparrow on the street on Sunday (17th) with its wings glued shut by kraft tape. The sparrow was successfully rescued and handed over to animal volunteers for treatment. The resident severely criticized the "murderer" for their excessive behavior and said he would call the police on the incident.
The resident posted on the Facebook group " To Kwa Wan Friends of To Kwa Wan " on Sunday that a wild sparrow was found near Pak Tai Street and had been abused. Its wings were maliciously glued with kraft tape, making it unable to fly. Jumping around under the car. Since she couldn't catch the birds on her own, she appealed to the neighbors to help.
A few hours later, the resident updated her post and said that with the help of several other residents, the sparrows had been rescued and handed over to animal volunteers for treatment. She was also worried that there would be more bird victims:
According to the volunteers afterwards, they had successfully removed the brown tape from the sparrow, but the sparrow was "very frightened. It was so startled that it just looked at me stupidly and kept trying to escape." The volunteers emphasized that they would temporarily take care of the sparrow until it recovers in good condition before releasing it into the wild.
The incident aroused the anger of many netizens. Some netizens said:
"Those who abuse small animals are usually losers who have low self-esteem."
According to the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Ordinance, the penalty for any person who inflicts cruelty upon an animal is a maximum of 3 years' imprisonment and a fine of HK$200,000.
The number of sparrows in Hong Kong has dropped this year
The Hong Kong Bird Watching Society estimates based on the sparrow census in May this year that there are about 243,000 sparrows in Hong Kong, a slight decrease of about 10% from last year. Except for rural and commercial areas, the number of sparrows in other land uses was lower than in the previous year.
Research director Zhong Jinting pointed out that weather, food availability, etc. will affect the number of sparrows. The reason for the slight decline in the number of sparrows this year is unknown. However, the rise and fall of the sparrow population can reflect the ecological diversity of the place and whether it faces environmental pollution.
He said that the number of sparrows in Hong Kong dropped to an all-time low of 210,000 in 2021. Fortunately, after excluding that year, the number has remained at 240,000 to 270,000 in the past six years, and the numbers have stabilized. However, Assistant Education Manager Yu Changheng pointed out that BirdLife International estimates that sparrows are on a downward trend globally.
Main Source: Sky Post
