Skywatch Bird Rescue raises awareness of suspicious pelican injuries and deaths

CASTLE HAYNE, NC (WWAY) — Skywatch Bird Rescue in Castle Hayne is sounding the alarm about a number of suspicious pelican injuries and deaths that it — and the Sea Biscuit Wildlife Shelter in Oak Island — have been seeing recently.

Skywatch has shared a Facebook post with a number of injured pelicans, but the images are graphic and may disturb readers.

For nearly a decade, coastal bird rescues across Florida, Georgia, South Carolina, North Carolina, and Virginia have seen pelicans with suspicious injuries when the commercial fishing/shrimping/trawling season starts in their area. Skywatch says all of the pelicans have the exact same injury — always at the same time of year, which they claim coincides with the presence of commercial boats.

Skywatch says the Florida state veterinarian’s necropsies and examinations believe these injuries are not accidental, or natural, but caused by human handling, and that the injuries these birds have across these states are exactly the same. Skywatch says they believe it’s a specific individual, or perhaps more than one individual but on the same ship, who grabs them when they land on the boats, trying to get fish. This individual(s) grabs the pelican by the wings and swings it repeatedly in a circular motion that breaks the wing, twisting it round and round. They are then thrown back into the ocean and left injured to suffer slowly until they die. When these boats are out there fishing, dead and injured pelicans start showing up the next day.

Officials believe this is being caused by one particular vessel; they just don’t know which. Skywatch says the suspects have gotten away with this crime for so long because you would have to witness them do that or have some type of proof or evidence like filming in order to charge someone. There is currently a $10,000 reward out for information leading to the arrest and conviction of this person (or persons).