Realising that the Pelican was in shock and wasn't moving, a closer look revealed that the bird was caught up in metres of tangled fishing line, which had caused deep lacerations to its wings and legs.

After spending half an hour gently removing the line, the youth rushed the Pelican to Myall Street Veterinary Clinic where Dr Paul Collins immediately went to work.

"Sadly, due to the discarded fishing line that was carelessly left behind in the bay, the Pelican had deep lacerations to his wings and legs that had cut through the tough skin and underlying tissue exposing the blood vessels and tendons," explained Dr Collins.

"The bird had pockets of air under the skin all over his body, indicating that the air sacs (attached to the lungs) had ruptured, and would have been in this excruciating condition for probably more than a week or so," he said.

Unfortunately there was nothing that could be done to save the animal and it was euthanased, putting it out of its misery after suffering a slow and painful death that could have easily been avoided.

"Fishing line slowly cuts into the skin allowing bacteria into the bloodstream.

"The bacteria release toxins into the animal which causes a slow, painful death from septicaemia and gangrene," continued Dr Collins.

"If you're going to be irresponsible and leave your fishing line behind, at least cut it up.

"Any responsible fisherman should take line home, cut it up and put it in the bin so that birds and marine life do not get tangled up and die cruel and avoidable deaths," he said.

The dove chick and the friendly swallow fledgling pictured above were both brought to the Tea Gardens Veterinary Clinic as they were found out of the nest and their parents were not present.

Both were health checked and assessed to ensure that they could be successfully released back into the wild.

Both birds require intensive feeding and care by wildlife carers, who are very knowledgeable as to the dietary and habitat requirements of native animals.

"These birds will hopefully be re-released in the near future," said Dr Collins.