Wildlife charity monitoring Telford duck with crossbow bolt in its head

The Mallard duck, which lives at Homer Lake, has been capturing the attention of many visitors, residents and passers-by since it was first spotted in November.

Staff and volunteers at Cuan Wildlife Rescue have since tried to catch the duck, to bring it into their care, but have said it is currently in 'fight or flight' mode.

Fran Hill of Cuan Wildlife Rescue said: "It such a tricky situation this. I live up the road from Homer and I go down there a lot and we are continuing to monitor him – and when possible we are still trying to catch him.

"The problem with wild animals is that when they are injured they just know we are trying to get them because they feel vulnerable.

"He is doing everything normally and he's been like this since near the end of the summer last year.

"I really believe or fear he would end up getting caught in something. He's doing incredibly well, but we are continuing to monitor him."

Police spoke out earlier this week to reassure concerned members of the community that the duck is 'safe and well' and people should not attempt to catch it. This is partly due to the problem with avian flu.

Fran went on to say that it is difficult to know what to do in this situation. She said he cannot be darted as that in itself is a risk and there's the possibility that if they were to remove the bolt the procedure might not be successful.

"The problem then is should we catch him, what happens next?" Fran added.

"Even though there have been successful bolt removals – this isn't a one off I'm afraid – there are sadly more non-successful ones."

If the duck was less than perfect, or if his wellbeing changed, then under welfare laws he would not be able to be released back into the wild.

Fran went on to say that everyone is aware of the duck which is a positive and makes it much easier for people to monitor his wellbeing.

"Where this is going to end I don't know," she admitted.

"I go down to see him, he's flying around, he's got a mate, they might end up having ducklings together. Everything looks good bar this bolt in his neck."

Fran hopes the end to this story will be a positive one.

Cuan Wildlife Rescue has urged anyone who sees someone inflicting cruelty on to animals to contact West Mercia Police or the RSPCA.