Oil Spill Takes Toll on Wildlife
Three Oiled Birds Recovered
In the wake of Sunday’s 1,400-gallon oil spill at Platform A – located six miles south of Carpinteria in the Santa Barbara Channel – the California Oiled Wildlife Care Network (OWCN) reports having recovered three live oiled birds. In the days immediately following the spill, officials from the California Department of Fish and Game Office of Spill Prevention and Recovery (OSPR) said that they had spotted two oiled birds, but were unable to capture them. The three birds that have been recovered are being cared for at the Los Angeles Oiled Bird Care and Education Center in San Pedro, where they are being monitored until they are strong enough to be cleaned and tested for other internal and external damage.
A spokesperson from the U.S. Coast Guard – which co-managed the spill cleanup with OSPR and DCOR, LLC, the company operating Platform A – said yesterday that the cleanup is mostly finished. Three staff members from the International Bird Rescue Research Center are working in the Santa Barbara area currently, searching for other oiled animals. Anyone who spots an oiled animal should call (877) 823-6926.
