#Seagull rescued after spending week trapped in littered coronavirus mask

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Face masks might be good for people, but they’re terrible for birds.

They may be saving human lives, but when littered, masks could be deadly for animals.

A seagull in the UK was rescued after spending around a week with its legs hopelessly entangled in a disposable mask, which rendered it unable to fly or walk.

Wildlife rescue officials worry that many other critters could suffer a similar fate as personal protective equipment (PPE) becomes mandatory in many places.

“As it has been here a while the poor [bird’s] limbs and joints are swollen,” reads a tweet posted Sunday by the Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals charity (RSPCA).

An accompanying photo depicts the poor gull with a face mask wrapped around its ankles like manacles.

RSPCA inspector Adam Jones was alerted to the bird’s predicament by staff at a car showroom, reports SWNS. He told the wire service that he became “increasingly concerned” when the bird stayed in one spot for hours, and didn’t appear to be moving.

When the charity worker tried to approach the avian, it attempted to fly away. Unfortunately, by that time, the flustered flyer could only “stumble and fall” due the mask’s elastic straps ensnaring its legs, Jones said.

The seagull was eventually whisked to the RSPCA’s South Essex Wildlife Hospital, where staffers relieved it of its accidental shackles. The plucky picnic pillager is currently recuperating in an aviary and is slated to be released along with several other gulls when they’re ready, according to Jones.

Despite saving the seagull, the rescuer is concerned that there “will be more and more [face masks] being irresponsibly discarded and wild animals and birds will become tangled in the elastic straps.”

Carelessly discarded face masks don’t just pose a threat to animals. Officials warned in April that the US’ mounting PPE trash problem could help facilitate spread of the coronavirus among people.