A pelican found seriously injured at Harrington is on the road to recovery after being stitched back to health by Laurieton veterinarian Gavin Rippon late last month.

Waterbird coordinator for FAWNA (For Australian Wildlife Needing Aid) June LePla said the bird was lucky to survive such extensive injuries presumably caused by a fishing lure.

"What we suspected was that the bird had been hooked by a lure through the

pouch under its beak," she said.

"It looked like a fisherman tried to wind up their line and in doing so actually cut the bird's pouch in the vicinity of 40cm long then turned on a 45 degree angle and cut down another 15cm," she continued.

"Every time the bird tried to swallow a fish it fell out the side of the pouch and because of the size of the hole, its windpipe was exposed which meant there was danger of infection."

The eight-year-old pelican's injuries were first noticed by a member of the public who immediately called the FAWNA hotline.

The bird was then further examined by a Johns River member who assessed the level of the injury before the group of wildlife experts attended to it.

"Three of us went down to Harrington where we set a snare and enticed the bird to walk into it," Mrs LePla said.

"We had Gavin on standby for three days and first described the injuries to him over the phone."

When the pelican arrived at his surgery Mr Rippon said he was surprised to see such a widespread injury and agreed to stitch it up with non-dissolvable stitches.

"The non-dissolvable material used will stay in there forever. It was too risky to use dissolvable stitches because we didn't know the exact effect the saltwater would have on them," he said.

"We decided to release him that same day because pelicans don't seem to hold well in captivity.

Mrs LePla said she thought "Mr Rippon" was an ideal name for the bird due to the injury it sustained and to honour the lifesaving work Gavin performed daily at the Camden Haven Veterinarian Clinic.

"It's nice to give Gavin a pat on the back. He did a wonderful job and was so patient with the situation," she said.

"It's important for people to realise that if they do hook any animal while fishing they should immediately cut the line rather then reel it in.

"In FAWNA we prize ourselves on the fact that we work together and we welcome more members from the Camden Haven to look out for our many local species."

Those who witness wildlife in need should contact the FAWNA duty officer on 0265 814 141.