Tragic twist after Bunnings shoppers made a sad discovery at hardware store

The rescue of a barn owl trapped in a Bunnings store for nine days before it was noticed by shoppers has ended in tragedy.

The bird died from starvation shortly after it was rescue at the retail giant's Tarneit store in Melbourne's west last Thursday.

Nigel's Animal Rescue owner Nigel Williamson was called to the store to capture the animal and release it.

Once the rescuer caught the bird with his net and assessed it, he rushed the owl to a specialist wildlife rehabilitator, Nalini, at Boobook Wildlife Shelter.

'Nalini called an hour and a half later and said it had passed,' he said.

Animal rescuer Nigel Williamson with the barn owl he rescued at a Bunnings in Melbourne. Tragically, the bird died from starvation, not long after being saved

The barn owl was found to be 50 per cent under its normal weight. Mr Williamson said every second counts when an animal is trapped

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'It was under 50 per cent of its normal body weight.'

The animal rescuer, who has successfully rescued three other owls in warehouses around Melbourne in recent weeks believed the owl should have survived.

'It certainly should have been saved earlier. I blame the wildlife industry for this,' he said.

'When it is a trapped animal every second is critical for it's survival.'

Mr Williamson told Daily Mail Australia that Bunnings called the Department of Energy, Environment and Climate Action (DEECA), which told the store to call Wildlife Victoria on May 9.

According to Mr Williamson, Wildlife Victoria told Bunnings they couldn't send anyone out to help and that the store needed to find a professional wildlife catcher.

Wildlife Victoria, according to Mr Williamson, then called the store everyday to be given 'an update' on the welfare of the bird.

'Bunnings did everything right and called immediately for help which nobody offered to them and they couldn't give them a name of someone to help rescue the owl,' he said.

Once shoppers spotted the owl and posted about it to social media, Mr Williamson's name was 'all over it' with dozens of online recommendations for him to rescue it.

No-one was available to rescue the owl until Mr Williamson was recommended for the job

Shoppers noticed the owl and posted about it on social media

Bunnings called him straight away and provided a scissor lift and operator to help catch the bird.

Because the lift can't be used around shoppers for safety reasons, the rescue started at 9pm - but the bird had moved.

'The owl was in the perfect position for 30 minutes but had flown off when the rescuer went to show the drone operator where it was,' Mr Williamson said.

'I then had four people searching the store with staff. The owl had flown onto a lower rack.'

After yelling out for his nets, Mr Williamson said it only took one 'swoosh' and the bird was caught.

The passionate wildlife rescuer, who started with Victoria's first ever wildlife shelter, said two important things need to happen so this doesn't happen again.

'There needs to be more collaboration within the wildlife industry where  organisations will network with specialists and other animal rescuers,' he said.

'The second is automatic skylights need to be introduced in all warehouses across the country.

'This is when a skylight can be button-operated to let trapped birds out. We need them in shopping centres too.

'Have a perch with food and water and then open it so then they fly out.'

The owl was able to be saved by Mr Williamson once it relocated to a lower rack in the shop

Daily Mail Australia contacted Wildlife Victoria for comment.

After the bird was spotted by shoppers, Wildlife Victoria told Yahoo last week that the rescue of mobile birds was 'tricky' as they often fly away from rescuers and equipment.

'In these situations, it is common for Wildlife Victoria to recommend a paid animal rescue contractor,' a Wildlife Victoria spokesperson said.

'The high ceilings at Bunnings coupled with the number of people in the store will make this a particularly challenging case.'

Bunnings regional manager Barb Mclatchie told Daily Mail Australia the store was 'saddened' about the owl.

'We thank our Tarneit store team for their work contacting a range of wildlife organisations over several days and following their guidance,' she said.

Daily Mail Australia understands the Bunnings store made calls everyday and were never advised to leave food out for the owl, but they left water for the bird.