Sad photo highlights dangers of popular Halloween decoration

A distressing photo of a kookaburra trapped in fake spiderwebs has served as a poignant Halloween warning to Sydney residents.

The photo, shared on social media yesterday, was taken on the lawn of a home in north Wahroonga, on Sydney's Upper North Shore.

It shows the kookaburra ensnared in artificial cobwebs, a Halloween decoration which has become popular over the past few years.

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"The webbing was wrapped around the bird's neck and it was in distress," the poster, whose daughter found the kookaburra, said.

Luckily, a student vet nurse was able to cut the cobwebs with scissors and set the bird free.

The bird appeared to recover and flew away.

The photo prompted comments from local residents calling for the fake spiderwebs to be banned.

"This webbing absolutely should be banned - it kills so much wildlife each year - birds, mircrobats, insects," one resident said.

The post comes as several Sydney councils have urged residents to consider the local wildlife and environment during Halloween.

In a post on Facebook, Willoughby City Council urged people to keep Halloween "fun and wildlife-friendly".

"We love seeing all the spooky, creative decorations pop up in our neighbourhoods this time of year," the post read.

"But here's a small thing to keep in mind: fake spiderwebs, while spooky, can be harmful to birds and other wildlife."

The post warned that animals could get tangled in the decorations or even take them for food and eat them.

"Together, we can enjoy a spooky season without scaring off our feathered and furry neighbours," the post read.

Inner West Council has joined the call as well, posting a video to Facebook.

Instead of synthetic cobwebs, fishing line, plastic rope and string, or balloons, they urged residents to use materials like straw, organic cotton wool, sticks and twigs, leaves and pumpkins, and upcycled or reusable decorations.

People in NSW cannot be fined or penalised for decorating their homes unless those decorations can be presumed to be offensive or a hazard.

However, littering certainly is an offence, so residents are advised to keep their decorations neat and clean up after the holiday is over.