RSPCA Reveals Its Funniest Emergency Calls Of 2021

RSPCA animal rescue officer Shane Lynn received a report of a frozen duck stuck in an icy pond in Middlesbrough.

Shane says, “The caller claimed the bird had been stuck in the frozen pond for two days and hadn’t been able to move. As soon as I arrived and located the pond I realised my help wouldn’t be required as the duck was in fact a plastic ornament!”

Inspector Dale Grant received a call about a squealing and crying dog, stuck on a canal boat in London.

Dale says, “I was really worried that I could be walking into a dire situation involving a dog in a really dangerous predicament but it turns out I needn’t have worried. The ‘dog’ in question turned out to be a stuffed toy tiger that had been tied onto the bow of the boat!"

Animal rescue officer Lisa Miller rushed to Woolwich, London, after a call was received about a bird that was tangled in a flag pole on the roof of a block of flats.

Lisa says, “The woman had spotted the bird caught in string and tangled with the flag pole. She said the bird had been trying to fly away but couldn’t free itself. When I arrived at the scene I quickly established that I wouldn’t need to launch a rescue mission; as it was a plastic bird scarer! She was very embarrassed but we had a giggle and I told her she should go to Specsavers!”

RSPCA rescuer Beth Boyd was called to rescue a snake that turned out to be part of an art installation.

She says, “It was a really weird job! When I arrived I quickly found the snake which was in fact a taxidermy snake arranged inside a block as part of an art piece! I did have a chuckle. I suppose art is there to cause a stir, and this certainly did! I left a note attached to the piece to explain that the snake was not real and to avoid any further call-outs.”

RSPCA animal rescue officer David Holgate expected something else when he received a call about these bags.

He says, “A passerby had spotted a number of black bin bags, one of which was split open and the body of a dead badger could be seen poking out. I thought I’d be investigating the suspicious death of a beautiful badger but I was quite relieved when I arrived to find fly tipped rubbish bags containing garden waste. The upturned contents of a flower pot - clumped soil and plant roots - did look suspicious from a distance.”

A motorist called RSPCA to report a bird that's tangled in electric fencing on the water after the river burst its banks and flooded into neighboring fields.

RSPCA officer Graham said, “I went out to check on the bird and had prepared to call out the water rescue team for back-up but, before they hit the road, I managed to get closer and get a good look at the ‘bird’ - which turned out to be a white plastic chair floating in the water!”

A woman and her son got scared after seeing a snake on a garden chair and called for help. To their surprise, the snake didn't out to be real.

Animal rescuer Martyn says, “It didn’t take me too long to realise that this King Cobra was the plastic kind - thankfully too, as they are deadly venomous snakes. Obviously, we are trained to be able to identify snakes but it is not so obvious to members of the public - so I understand they may have been spooked by the sighting. It appears that the toy had come from children in a neighbouring garden - so the snake has now been returned to its home!”

In Prestwich, Greater Manchester, a man spotted a 3ft-long snake in his garden and kept an eye on it for a while. After the snake hadn’t moved two hours later he called the RSPCA.

Inspector Demi said, “When I arrived I had my grasping pole ready to safely grab the snake. It's really important to approach these situations to confine the animal as safely as possible, particularly if it’s suspected that the snake may be venomous. However, it didn’t take me too long to realise that this snake was the plastic kind.”