Seagull Was Marked With Large Black Swastika and Left ‘Traumatized’ After Its Feathers Were Ripped Out by Prisoner

A seagull was marked with a swastika at a prison in Newport, England and arrived at a wild bird sanctuary with some its feathers plucked out.

The animal, identified as a Lesser Black Backed Gull, was taken in by Skippers Sanctuary from HMP Isle of Wight prison on Friday, June 6. The animal rescue wrote on Facebook that the gull’s tail feathers and flight feathers had been plucked from its body, resulting in some blood loss — and a large black swastika symbol had been painted in the middle of its head.

Island Echo, a local Isle of Wight outlet, reported that the gull was “grabbed by a prisoner at the Isle of Wight’s only prison in Newport, and subjected to serious abuse.”

The outlet said that the incident was reported to Hampshire & Isle of Wight Constabulary, but police said the perpetrator would receive “low level” punishment because they are an inmate.

A spokesperson for Skipper’s Sanctuary told Island Echo, “If it were humans they were doing this to, they would get time added to their sentence, but because their victim is not a human, no one in a position to take action seems to think it warrants any.”

The sanctuary said on Facebook that the bird was uninjured but “very traumatized” from the incident, and would have to stay with them for multiple months as it regrew its feathers.

On the gull’s first night at the sanctuary, they said she refused to eat and was “very frightened.” In a Facebook update posted on Saturday, June 7 — the day after the gull was taken in — the sanctuary said they could “only imagine the horror she has been through.”

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As the days went by, the sanctuary posted more optimistic updates about the gull, who they named Belinda. In a Wednesday, June 11, Facebook post, they shared that the bird spent its first night outside and had begun to spend time with “the gentlest group of gulls” at the sanctuary, “who have all welcomed her and helped her feel a little more at ease.”

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According to Island Echo, Belinda the gull wasn’t the first bird to be treated at Skippers Sanctuary after being rescued from HMP Isle of Wight. A bird later named Sunshine was rescued by the sanctuary after being dipped in yellow paint, the outlet reported.

Sunshine remains at Skippers Sanctuary, which gives long-term care for both disabled and unreleasable wild birds, according to the organization’s Facebook page.