Drinks can sheep 'highlights' litter risk to animals

The ewe is part of a flock in Wester Ross

A sheep found with a drinks can stuck in its mouth highlights the risks of countryside littering, conservationists and farmers have warned.

The ewe is part of a flock on a croft near Achiltibuie, north of Ullapool in Wester Ross.

The sheep were rounded up and the rusty can removed. The ewe was unharmed.

A local Scottish Wildlife Trust officer said other animals might not be so lucky while NFU Scotland said littering and flytipping were a "big concern".

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The crofters, who have asked not to be named, said it was not the first problem with discarded rubbish and other waste they had encountered in the area.

The rusty can was stuck in the ewe's mouth

Noel Hawkins, the Scottish Wildlife Trust's Living Seas project community development manager, has shared images of the ewe to highlight the risks of littering.

Mr Hawkins, whose work usually concerns marine pollution, said: "Fortunately the owners caught it and freed it but other wildlife and livestock are not so lucky.

"Bin it, don't chuck it out."

'Toxic risk'

Penny Middleton, of NFU Scotland, said dumping waste in the countryside or on farmland was "extremely dangerous".

She said: "Animals are naturally curious and will investigate foreign objects left in their environment.

"Hazards can include the risk of injury from sharp edges and protruding objects or risk of becoming caught up or entangled in waste materials."

The animal health and welfare policy manager said other items found discarded in the countryside included car batteries and trimmings of exotic garden plants, which posed a toxic risk to animals.

She said: "The plea to the public, for the health of livestock and wildlife, is please dispose of waste responsibly."

The can was removed

Last week, outdoors groups said abandoned campsites strewn with litter and even human waste had increasingly been found this year in Scotland's rural areas,.

Locations include beauty spots in the Highlands and hillsides and woodland in the Pentland Hills near Edinburgh.

Hillwalkers and climbers group Mountaineering Scotland dubbed the behaviour "dirty camping".