Cockerel abandoned - in Tesco (From Thisisdorset)

Cockerel abandoned - in Tesco

7:00am Wednesday 25th November 2009

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A BLACK cockerel in a cardboard box was wheeled into a supermarket and abandoned.

And five Syrian hamsters were abandoned in a clear plastic box outside another Bournemouth supermarket on the same day.

RSPCA officials – who have named the cockerel Henry – say the bird could have been abandoned or stolen and then dumped as a cruel prank.

The adult black cockerel was inside a cardboard box that was loaded into a supermarket trolley and then pushed around the Tesco store in Riverside Avenue, Bournemouth, at around 10.30pm on Tuesday, November 10, by two teenage boys.

The boys then left the shop to meet three teenage girls outside.

The bird, which has very long tail and head feathers, was in fairly good condition and is now being cared for at the RSPCA Ashley Heath Animal Centre near Ringwood, where it will be looking for a new home.

RSPCA inspector Jo Story, investigating, said: “This is a very bizarre way to abandon an animal and we have no idea where this bird came from.

“It could be an animal that they no longer wanted or it is also possible that the bird was stolen and then dumped as a cruel prank.

“Either way we are keen to hear from anyone who recognised the bird or who had information about the teenage boys who abandoned it.”

She said there was no suggestion, due to the size and type of the bird, that it could have been used in illegal cockfighting.

The five Syrian hamsters were abandoned outside the Co-op in Holdenhurst Road at around 5.30pm on the same day.

Officials are asking anyone with information about owners in either case, or the teenage boys, to contact them on 0300 1234 999.

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