Oxfordshire charity's bird feeding warning after red kite poisoned

The red kite suffered a "serious gastrointestinal illness" as a result of the rotting chicken, the charity said

A charity has told people to be careful feeding wild animals after a red kite was poisoned by raw, rotting chicken.

Oxfordshire Wildlife Rescue said the bird could have died after it suffered a "serious gastrointestinal illness".

"The amount of harmful bacteria found on raw chicken is dangerous enough, let alone rotting raw chicken," it said.

Last month the Chiltern Conservation Board told people to stop feeding meat to red kites because they were dropping scraps onto people's heads.

The charity said it wasn't "fair" for birds to be dependent on people for food

The Didcot-based charity said it knew that the ill red kite had eaten the chicken recently because it was found in the bird's crop and was "doing his best to cough it all up".

"Please be careful with what you feed and please don't allow these animals to become dependent on you. It's really not fair and certainly not what these animals should be doing," it said.

The red kite is now being looked after by the charity's care team.