KEY-OWL SURGERY

Vets fix injured bird’s broken wings in groundbreaking op

AN owl badly injured in a road accident is having a hoot again after a radical double wing transplant.

The little owl had lost several vital flight feathers and was facing death without the imping operation, which is not usually carried out on wild birds.

Wildlife Aid Foundation experts took donor feathers from a dead owl and transferred them to the injured owl.

WAF chief executive Simon Cowell, said: “The procedure was very delicate.”

Little owls have been dying out in the UK in the past 50 years and it is thought just few thousand breeding pairs remain.

The injured bird was discovered flapping around on the ground in Southall, West London, by a member of the public. They nursed it for 10 days before contacting the WAF, which sent a volunteer to collect it.

It was taken to the charity’s hospital and rehabilitation centre in Leatherhead, Surrey, where the operation took place. The owl, which is believed to be a few months old, was well enough to be released back into the wild the following day.

Mr Cowell said: “Imping is a process from falconry and is usually carried out on captive birds of prey and on individual feathers.

“We took the idea and developed it to help a wild bird, and it was a complete success.”

PATIENT The owl at the WAF’S hospital PAINSTAKING Vet works on wing DELICATE Its flight feathers are replaced