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Posted: 17th April 2013

RSPCA calls for substance investigation
Questions follow countless deaths of seabirds

The RSPCA has called for an investigation into a polyisobutene (PIB) spill, which has caused hundreds of seabirds to die this year.

There has been two incidents in two months, in which a large number of seabirds – mainly guillemots – have been found coated in a "sticky" substance on south-westerly beaches.

In both incidences, the substance has been identified as PIB – a chemical often used in the engines of ships.

Peter Venn, manager of the RSPCA's West Hatch Centre in Somerset, said: "It is a huge concern that it is the same substance coating these birds. We are not just talking about a one-off incident now, but two very similar incidents which have happened in quick succession."

The RSPCA reported that it had treated more than 300 birds in February and has been rescuing a second accumulation of PIB coated birds since the beginning of April, from beaches in both Cornwall and Devon.

Meanwhile, the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB) South West said it had so far found 361, in a tweet sent on Monday, April 15.

While a huge number have been found dead, some have not been found at all. Therefore, an exact figure of affected birds will never be known.

Mr Venn commented: "A proper investigation is needed to stop this happening again and again, or else our wildlife are likely to go on suffering and dying".



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