Supermarket giant ASDA is facing a furious shopper boycott after a series of photographs taken outside one of its stores went viral. The images have sparked an entire Twitter campaign, and a major charity is now involved.
A shopper was horrified when he found a dead bird in anti-bird netting on top of a store in Somerset. He was so upset by the ordeal, he shared his findings on Twitter with the hashtag #TakeItDown.
Author and nature photographer Carl Bovis, whose own work largely focuses on birds, says he spotted the netting outside an ASDA store in the town of Bridgwater, Somerset. Bovis, who penned the wildlife book 100 Birds, has urged the company to "take the b****y netting down", sparking the currently trending Twitter hashtag #TakeItDown in the UK.
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Many others have been appalled at the sight of the "disgusting" netting, with some Asda shoppers even vowing to spend their money elsewhere from now on. Bovis, who lives in Somerset Levels, told The Mirror : "As I walked to the store entrance, I noticed there were vast amounts of raised netting covering the entire roof.
"I saw a herring gull on the netting, it seemed to be dozing and I wasn't sure if it was caught up or not. I went back to my car to get my camera with a zoom lens on. I'm a wildlife photographer so I always have the camera with me, just in case.
"I took a photo of the gull, and then I noticed something a bit further back on the netting that looked suspiciously like an entangled bird. Sure enough, once I looked through my camera and zoomed in to take a picture I saw that it was a bird, a pigeon, it was entangled, and it was also dead!
"I was so angry and distressed at seeing this poor bird, I was literally shaking and finding it hard to focus the camera to take a photo."
Bovis immediately took to Twitter with his snaps, believing this to be his best shot at raising awareness and getting the netting removed. His tweet has shocked nature lovers far and wide, with Springwatch presenters Chris Packham and Megan McCubbin both retweeting his plea for Asda to remove the netting.
Bovis continued: "Anti-bird netting is a cruel practice, I've always known this from following similar stories in the past, birds can and do die in it, a long distressing drawn-out death for them. Just recently a peregrine falcon had to be rescued from netting at the University of Leeds, and whilst being rescued a dead peregrine was found under the netting.
"I don't have all the answers to keeping birds off roofs, but I do know that the current fad of netting everything is both unethical, ineffective, and dangerous, although it's not currently illegal. Let nature be nature, we're losing too much wildlife as it is."
Nick Bruce-White, RSPB Operations Director for Southern England, said: " We’re dismayed by Asda’s use of netting at their Bridgwater store, and we share the horror of everyone seeing the photos of apparently dead and trapped birds.
"We’ve lost 38 million birds in the last 50 years in the UK and we need to be doing everything to reverse this decline. We cannot keep trying to squeeze nature into smaller and smaller spaces or demanding it fits in with our plans. If such action is deemed vital, we would urge Asda to look at alternatives that pose less risk to wildlife. Shrouding whole buildings in dangerous nets can never be the answer."
According to guidance issued by the RSPCA, it’s "vitally important" to ensure any bird deterrent netting is properly installed and well-maintained. Incorrect installation or damage can lead to wild birds getting trapped in gaps, putting them at risk of dying by injury or starvation.
An ASDA spokesperson said: "The netting was installed to help protect wildlife following several incidents where birds had become injured by the machinery on the roof of the store.
"Since it was installed 18 months ago, we have seen a significant reduction in these cases and the RSPCA raised no concerns on their recent visit to our Bridgwater store."
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