Witnesses watched helpless from Midsummer Common in Cambridge as the bird tore itself from the jaws of the pet and made off leaving pools of blood in its wake.
A swan was found the next day with a wound consistent with a dog attack by the RSPCA and had to be put down, as the death toll of the Queen’s birds on the river mounts.
The latest attack happened at about 11am on Tuesday near the boathouses and drew a crowd of horrified onlookers.
A woman who was cycling past and lives on a boat on the river, who did not wish to be named, said: “It looked like a black Staffordshire bull terrier. It was attacking a swan really badly. We were all shouting from across the river for the man to get his dog off the swan. Eventually we started screaming at him.
“The swan actually managed to rip itself from the dog’s jaws and started to swim away a bit. There were pools of blood coming off it. I just thought ‘Oh my goodness’. I couldn’t believe what I was seeing. It was horrific.”
Tony Hollis, of the RSPCA, who found the wounded swan and had to put it down, suspects the injuries were sustained in a dog attack.
He said: “The swan had a very large hole in it. It is a wound consistent with a dog bite. We were called by a member of the public who said the swan’s wing was covered in blood. We found the swan and had to put it to sleep.”
Dr Graham Richards, who is known on the river as ‘The Swan Man’ because he feeds the birds daily, was appalled by the latest death and claims a swan is being killed every two weeks on the river by dogs.
He said: “This is very serious. I saw the swan after the attack and managed to look at the wound. There was a hole about three inches wide in it.
“It was the same kind of hole that was on another swan that was attacked the other day and had to be put down. This is getting out of hand.”
One boathouse manager said although his dog did attack a swan, it was not the same bird found by the RSPCA.
He said: “My dog did catch the tail feathers of a swan in its mouth and it may have nipped it and that’s why there was blood. But the swan found and put down by the RSPCA was not the same swan.
“I called the RSPCA after what happened. If my dog had done that he would be straight down to the vets. Swans hiss at dogs and they will react. This is nature.”
A Cambridgeshire police spokesman said: “We are aware of this incident and would urge anyone with information to call police on 101.”
The attack comes after an animal lover feared a dog was trained to kill swans on the Cam. Police were called to an incident in Fen Road in May after a shocked resident described how teenagers with dogs dragged the swan from a ditch and slaughtered it.
The attack adds to reports several swans have been mauled by dogs in Cambridge. The deaths of two swans were deemed suspicious, and another bird carcass “disappeared”, according to a Cam Conservators report.
Another report described how a dead swan was found near the A14 road bridge at Fen Ditton and a swan was put down after it was said to have been attacked by two dogs near a boathouse in Cambridge.
(cambridge-news.co.uk - July 18, 2014)
No comments:
Post a Comment