RNLI lifeboat team receive award for helping a duck in distress

A Scottish lifeboat team have been given an award for saving a duck. RNLI crew members were returning from an exercise on the River Forth when they rushed to the rescue of the bird, which had been mistakenly hooked by a fisherman. Crew members carefully freed the mallard, who had a hook stuck in her wing and near her head, and she flew away apparently unharmed.



Lifesavers from RNLI Anstruther in Fife have now been honoured for saving the distressed duck by the People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA). A local fisherman had shouted for help after finding the duck at the end of his fishing rod and spotted the crew’s inshore boat coming into the harbour. Alex Purves, second coxswain at RNLI Anstruther, said: “This award has come totally out of the blue.

“The guys were just returning from an exercise and the fisherman started shouting for them. They went over to him and he explained about the duck. It took only a minute or so but the hook was in the duck and the line was wrapped around it. There are quite a lot of ducks in the harbour but this one must have been greedier as I think it would have been going for the bait.”


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The crew were awarded the Hero to Animals award after a video of the rescue was uploaded onto YouTube and came to the charity’s attention. Mimi Bekhechi, PETA’s associate director, said: “By remaining calm and determined, the crew saved the life of a terrified animal, who may have been within minutes of drowning. Anstruther and the surrounding communities are fortunate to have public servants willing to put their own safety on the line.”