Weird and wacky places pets get stuck in Lancashire
National Fire Chiefs Council guidance says crews must be equipped to deal with incidents involving animals in peril, to prevent members of the public putting their lives at risk to save their pets.
Home Office figures show the Lancashire Fire and Rescue Service came to the aid of pets 100 times in 2018-19 – an average of 1.9 rescues per week.
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Hide AdThey made up 63 per cent of the 159 animal assistance call-outs crews attended over the year, with the remainder attributed to livestock (23 per cent) and wild animals (14 per cent).
Fire crews across England carried out almost 5,000 animal rescues over the same period, more than half of them involving pets.
Lancashire’s firefighters were most commonly needed to free pets who had got themselves wedged in tight spots or entangled, such as in fences or drain covers, with crews attending 57 incidents during the year.
The next most common predicament involved pets stuck at height, such as up trees or on roofs, accounting for 23 call-outs.
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Hide AdWhile fire and rescue services encourage people concerned about an animal’s welfare to contact the RSPCA first, to avoid calling crews out unnecessarily, the animal rescue charity says the assistance of firefighters is a vital help to their officers.
A spokeswoman said: “We work closely with fire and rescue services across England and Wales and are incredibly grateful to them for support helping us rescue animals from tricky situations, as well as carrying out their own animal rescues.
“Unfortunately there are many times where it simply isn’t safe for us to rescue animals, such as from heights or if specialist equipment and expertise are required, so collaborative working is vital in these situations to save animals.
“In these circumstances, we will sometimes request the help of firefighters but it’s up to them if they attend, and emergencies involving people will always take priority.”
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Hide AdIn 2018-19, firefighters from the Lancashire Fire and Rescue Service attended to:
74 animals trapped or entangled
33 rescues from heights
24 water or mud rescues
11 creatures retrieved from below ground
Six heavy animals in need of lifting
Three harmed or injured animals
Eight uncategorised incidents