Firefighters Nab PETA Award For Rescuing Owl

Rescuers Step In to Untangle Bird From Broken Kite

For Immediate Release:
May 4, 2017

Contact:
Megan Wiltsie 202-483-7382

A Compassionate Fire Department Award is on its way from PETA to the Jackson Township Fire Department in honor of its rescue of a great horned owl on the morning of Sunday, April 23. A police sergeant spotted the exhausted owl, who was entangled in a broken kite near the department’s parking lot, and firefighters stepped in to remove the kite from the bird’s wing. The owl was transferred to the Stark Parks Wildlife Conservation Center, where he’s receiving treatment for soft-tissue damage.

“It was luck that led authorities to this injured owl, and it was the firefighters’ kindness that freed him from his painful predicament,” says PETA Vice President Colleen O’Brien. “PETA hopes this story will inspire everyone to come to the aid of animals in need.”

PETA—whose motto reads, in part, that “animals are not ours to abuse in any way”—encourages everyone to protect wildlife by never littering and by properly disposing of trash, such as by keeping all garbage in tightly sealed, chew-proof containers. Other effective measures include rinsing out aluminum cans and putting the tops inside so that they can’t cut an animal’s tongue, crushing cans and cups, and cutting open empty cardboard and plastic containers so that small animals can’t get their faces or heads trapped inside them.

The Jackson Township Fire Department will receive a framed certificate, a box of delicious vegan cookies, and a copy of The Engine 2 Diet—a Texas firefighter’s 28-day plan for staying in prime shape by eating plant-based meals.

For more information, please visit PETA.org.