By Tim Scott of 
The seagull when it was stuck in a tree grate outside Meridian Mall, in Dunedin. Photo: Supplied / Sue Cook
A gull found stuck in a George St grate may have exposed a design flaw in Dunedin's infrastructure, a conservationist says.
Bird Rescue Dunedin founder Sue Cook was told about a grounded red-billed gull on Saturday afternoon, stuck inside a tree grate outside Just Jeans, near Meridian Mall.
Those who found it had already phoned the Dunedin City Council which said the stuck seagull "wasn't their jurisdiction to go and save it", she said.
Cook contacted the Department of Conservation (DOC) and sent a photo, but no rangers were available to assist.
She said DOC thought there was plenty of space for the seagull to fly free, but Cook said the gap was too small and there was not enough space for it to open its wings to fly.
The seagull would also scurry underneath a ledge, out of arm's reach.
At first, some good Samaritans placed boxes and clothing in the hole for the seagull to climb up.
When that failed, they opted to cover a net with clothing and scoop the seagull to safety in a bundle.
The rescue operation took 90 minutes because the rescuers were not able to reach down and get the bird.
''He [the seagull] was a bit stressed and he was really happy to get out.''
Cook said the tree grates were a particularly perilous place for wildlife.
Photo: Supplied / Sue Cook
Fledglings, baby pigeons and ducks -any small animal - could fall down the grates and become trapped.
Even humans could risk breaking an ankle, she said.
While she had not heard of similar incidents happening, Cook said it was only a matter of time.
She said the grates needed to be covered, or filled in.
"There should be some form of netting around the gap, so that nothing can fall down there.
"They're going to fill up with rubbish and stuff anyway."
A council spokeswoman said it had not received any calls about animals getting stuck in its infrastructure.
"However, we will look at options to reduce this risk while still allowing trees to grow in a healthy manner," the spokeswoman said.
Its animal services team was only contacted in relation to stuck dogs or other animals, such as horses, sheep and cattle, on public land.
In the past six months, the council had received two calls about stuck dogs - one in the Silverstream and the other in a gorse bush on the Otago Peninsula.
Issues relating to wildlife such as red-billed gulls should be directed to DOC, if endangered, or the SPCA, she said.
This story was first published by the Otago Daily Times.
