INJURED wild animals are being put at risk by naive members of the public attempting to treat them themselves, welfare officers have claimed.

The Scottish SPCA (SSPCA) is aware of multiple cases where animals have been subjected to bizarre treatments that could ultimately kill them.

And by the time the creatures are delivered to the charity's National Wildlife Rescue Centre in Fishcross, it can be too late to properly treat them or release them back into the wild.

In one case, someone in Glasgow took a fawn into their home for the night – and ignored advice to return it to where it was found.

The young deer was also fed cow's milk, which could cause gut upset and result in serious, life-threatening issues.

Far from needing help, the animal's mother would most likely have been foraging or searching for a safe resting site when its baby was picked up.

In another case dealt with by the SSPCA, a fawn was taken to someone's home while wrapped in a dog's blanket.

By the time animal rescue officers arrived, the fawn was having seizures due to the amount of stress it was caused.

Mike Flynn, the Scottish SPCA's chief superintendent, said: "By no means do we think people do this maliciously or with intent to harm these animals, but, unfortunately, by trying to care for them they are doing more harm than good.

"People need to remember that these are wild animals and any interaction with humans is incredibly stressful for them.

"Fawns and deer in particular suffer from extreme stress and can pass away from shock.

"Often people will feed the animals the incorrect diet and this will lead to intestinal problems and can lead to the animal passing away.

"We have experienced many incidents of birds being taken home by members of the public.

"Some people have tried to tape up wings resulting in a maggot infestation, others have tried to feed birds paracetamol.

"Sadly, in many of these circumstances the animal needs to be put to sleep as its injuries have not been correctly treated from the outset.

"Our animal rescue officers and team at our National Wildlife Rescue Centre are experts in treating and rehabilitating wild animals.

"We would urge everyone to leave the care of wild creatures to us to give them the best possible chance of recovery."

If in doubt, look up the SSPCA's Wildlife Wise campaign for advice about what to do when coming across a wild animal.

And people can reach the charity's animal helpline on 03000 999 999.