Port Phillip Rescuers of Seagull Hooked by Fishing Gear Nab PETA Award
Port Phillip — Two divers who saved the life of a frantic seagull who became pinned to Port Phillip’s Rye Pier by a fishing hook that was embedded in their beak have had their swift and compassionate action recognised with a Hero to Animals award from People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA).
In a video uploaded by one of the kind divers, Jules Casey, the seagull is revealed to have swallowed a baited fishing hook from which you can see the line hanging. The divers, Casey and Emily May, are seen gently holding the bird and snipping the fishing line before setting the seagull free. The divers reported that the gull then circled above them.
“We applaud Jules and Emily for giving this seagull a second chance,” says PETA Senior Campaigns Advisor Mimi Bekhechi. “Aside from reminding us that birds’ lives are important, this rescue highlights how deadly fishing gear is—not only for the gentle fish it targets but other animals who discarded fishing gear continues to harm long after the fishers have gone home. Our appetite for fish flesh kills more animals than we realise.”
Approximately 640,000 tonnes of discarded fishing tackle—known as “ghost gear”—enter the world’s oceans yearly. Recently, PETA erected billboards urging Queenslanders to forgo fish flesh after Griffith University reported that at least 45 whales were entangled by fishing gear on the East Coast in 2024.
PETA – whose motto reads, in part, that “animals are not ours to eat” – points out that Every Animal Is Someone and offers free Empathy Kits. For more information, please visit PETA.org.au and follow PETA on Facebook and Instagram.
Contact:
Olivia Charlton +61 403226961 [email protected]
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