Seagull found with legs tied together on Fife beach

A seagull has been found dead on a Fife beach with its legs tied together with a thick rubber band and a broken wing.

The bird was found by a member of the public on Anstruther beach on Saturday.

Animal charity, the Scottish SPCA, said the incident had been "very cruel" as the bird would have had a "great deal of suffering".

The Scottish SPCA said there was "no way" the band could have pushed over the bird's webbed feet accidentally and that someone must have done it.

Senior Inspector John Chisholm, of the Scottish SPCA, said: "Sadly, the seagull was already dead when I arrived, most likely due to blood loss from its broken wing.

"I have no doubt that someone put the rubber band around its legs deliberately as there is no way it could have gotten over the bird's webbed feet by accident.

"We can't be sure if the person responsible also inflicted the wing injury, although this is a possibility.

"It could be that the bird had already become grounded because of its broken wing and someone decided to cause it even more distress.

"Either way, tying this seagull's feet together was very cruel and would certainly have caused it a great deal of suffering.

"We are very keen to trace whoever is responsible for this mindless act and are appealing to the public to help us with our enquiries."