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An Aberdeen Angus steer had to be rescued by firefighters after going for a swim in Beaulieu River, off the 18th century shipbuilding village of Buckler's Hard in Hampshire.
At 13:28 on Wednesday, 16 September, Hampshire Fire and Rescue Service was alerted to an Aberdeen Angus steer that had become trapped in the sedge and mud banks between Bucklers Hard and Exbury. The steer had swum from the Beaulieu Estate side of the river towards Exbury and had reportedly been stuck there for four days.
Hampshire Fire and Rescue Service Control operators mobilised fire crews from Hardley and Eastleigh to the scene, but conditions were not conducive to performing a safe rescue effort. Watch Manager Anton Phillips, one of the Service’s specialist Animal Rescue Advisors, returned to the scene the following day. He arrived when the tide was at its highest to see if there was any possibility of returning the animal back to where it had come from.
Watch Manager Phillips met up with the Woodland Landscape Manager of Beaulieu Estate, Peter Stagg, the Farmer David Hunt, and the Harbour Master of Bucklers Hard, Mike Nicholls, to assess the rescue situation. The Harbour Master’s barge 'The Dextrous' then ferried the multi-agency rescue team out to the stricken steer, before they were taken in closer by a Harbour Master’s launch.
The 350kg steer was sat on a mud bank, not trapped but obviously exhausted, and it was decided that the only safe way to assist the animal was to swim it back ashore whilst lashed to the barge.
Watch Manager Phillips first gained control of the steer and then encouraged it into the water. He explained: “This was a particularly challenging rescue operation. Once the animal was swimming, we took him under tow with the Harbour Master’s launch out to deeper water and transferred both myself and the steer to the barge.
“The Harbour Master then very slowly manoeuvred the barge to the slipway at Gins Yacht Club, where farm staff were waiting with a cattle trailer to transport the steer back to the rest of the herd.
"This was a great team effort by all those involved, with a very successful outcome. There were moments during the steer's swim back when he panicked and went under the water. The animal had a strong will to survive, but it is thanks to the efforts of Beaulieu Estate and Bucklers Hard Harbour Master in assisting Hampshire Fire and Rescue Service that we were able to safely return him to the herd.”
Watch Manager Anton Phillips is one of four specialist Animal Rescue Advisers at Hampshire Fire and Rescue Service. The dedicated team are leading the way in animal rescue work in the UK, with other fire and rescue service’s learning from their example. Their role is not solely responding to incidents, they are also heavily involved in education and the development of new rescue techniques, as well as promoting animal welfare.
2009-09-23
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