NORTHAMPTON, Mass. (WGGB/WSHM) — The “unofficial mascot” of Northampton has taken social media by storm, after she was illegally taken over a dozen miles from home.
Western Mass News is getting answers after finding “Sandwich the Turkey” on Tuesday. We’re hearing from officials on what say the next course of action should be.
For years, Sandwich the turkey has greeted clients, doctors, and students outside of Cooley Dickinson Hospital in Northampton.
“She’s more than a turkey. She’s a symbol of, you know, what’s going wrong in this world… You know? And this is our opportunity to try to make it right,” Huntington resident Lisa Goding tells us.
However last week, someone allegedly loaded the bird into their vehicle and transported her eighteen miles away to Huntington.
Lisa Goding and Anna Zina are both animal lovers who never thought they would deal with a situation like this one.
“I don’t understand that. If you’re taking it from its home, you know, and we, they were here first, and we’re taking it away… It’s just about respecting life.” Anna, from Honey’s Memory Cat Shelter, tells us.
Lisa agrees, telling Western Mass News, “This is not okay behavior. This is not what we want to teach our children about the importance of caring for animals. Uh, I wish that this could be reversed.”
The relocation of wildlife is illegal in Massachusetts, and Northampton residents are heartbroken that their feathered friend has gone missing.
“And even though this is a wild turkey, over the years being there and being taken care of by local residents in Northampton, she’s sort of become in some ways domesticated. So, she’s ill-prepared to handle the rough terrain,” Lisa continues.
Now, Sandwich is reportedly injured, with damage to its left wing and leg.
Lisa goes on to explain, “When you remove an animal from their familiar environment, you really endanger their survival because they don’t have their support system… I wish that we could find a way to, uh, to rescue Sandwich and bring her to get the medical care that she needs.”
Urban Wildlife Rehabilitation and Tufts Cummings School of Veterinary Hospital are both on standby to provide immediate care if Sandwich is able to be recaptured.
“So, my goal, I think, our goal, really, is to just educate the public about not moving a lot of life,” Anna says.
As the hunt to find the bird continues, if you have any information about Sandwich’s whereabouts at this time, or about the perpetrator, please contact Massachusetts Environmental Police at (800) 632-8075. Time is critical.
We reached out to the Environmental Protection Agency and Urban Wildlife Rehabilitation for more details but have not yet heard back.
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