Firefighters Nab PETA Award for Rescuing Bald Eagle

Mankato Department of Public Safety – Fire Steps In to Save Bird Tangled in Fishing Line on the Minnesota River

For Immediate Release:
February 2, 2017

Contact:
Megan Wiltsie 202-483-7382

A Compassionate Fire Department Award is on its way from PETA to the Mankato Department of Public Safety – Fire in honor of its rescue of a bald eagle on the Minnesota River on Sunday morning. Firefighters used a rescue boat to reach the 4-year-old bird, whose wing had become tangled in fishing line about 20 feet from shore. Rescuers cut the line and rushed him to the University of Minnesota College of Veterinary Medicine’s Raptor Center, where he is receiving treatment for his injuries as well as high lead toxicity.

“These firefighters were ready and willing to save this bird from a slow, terrifying death on the Minnesota River,” 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”—notes that fishing is devastating not only to fish, who endure agonizing deaths when impaled by metal hooks, but also to other wildlife, who can become ensnared in and be strangled to death by carelessly discarded fishing line and other equipment.

The Mankato Department of Public Safety – Fire 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 firefighting shape by eating plant-based meals.

For more information, please visit PETA.org.