Calls for “selfish fishermen” to be punished have been made after it was reported that a moorhen trapped in wire in Dunmow died because of the severity of its injuries this week (Monday 31).

Outside Dunmow’s Doctor’s Pond the animal was trapped so severely in wire that its toes fell off, and an RSPCA officer who was trying to help the animal in the end had to put the bird out of its misery.

Karine Bressan, who saw the incident, said she was “very sad and angry” and believes the wire to have come from fishermen “probably without licence”.

She said: “The injuries inflicted by these thoughtless, selfish fishermen were so severe that the moorhen toes were severed off, necrotic, detaching themselves of her legs, and the RSPCA lady had then no choice but to put the poor bird to sleep.

“I felt very sad and angry. Is money so much more important than the welfare of the wildlife in our pond?”

A spokesperson for the RSPCA said it was a “difficult decision” to put the bird to sleep.

They said: “This incident is one of many calls the RSPCA receives every year about wildlife caught up in litter.

“Litter like tin cans, netting, wire, beer can rings and elastic bands can be lethal for wildlife. It causes needless suffering and a waste of life and that is why we urge people to take their litter home or throw it away responsibly.”