United Kingdom: Swan rescued at Ranworth Broad with fishing hook through its tongue

UNITED KINGDOM -- A swan is today recovering after being found at Ranworth with a fishing hook through its tongue.

The swan was found by staff from Norfolk Wildlife Trust at Ranworth Broads nature reserve on Friday morning. RSPCA animal collection officer Amy Crisp rushed out to the nature reserve in search of the injured bird after receiving a call from the team.

ACO Crisp said: “The swan’s injuries weren’t obvious from afar so he is lucky that people were very vigilant that day, but once we were up close it was clear he was seriously hurt.

“I could see the blood coming from his mouth, dripping onto his beautiful white feathers. The team from Norfolk Wildlife Trust and I worked together to approach the swan on boats and managed to swiftly confine him.

“Unfortunately, swans and geese are often admitted to our wildlife centres as a result of being entangled in, swallowing, or being injured by, fishing litter. It’s heartbreaking to see.”

A volunteer driver for the RSPCA transported the swan to RSPCA East Winch, a specialist wildlife centre, where he underwent immediate surgery to remove the hook from his tongue.

RSPCA East Winch centre manager Alison Charles said: “Thankfully the surgery was a success and the swan is now recovering. Our team is very experienced with wild birds and we are hopeful he will make a good recovery and, in time, can be released back to Ranworth Broads and be reunited with his mate.”

She added: “I would strongly urge those who enjoy fishing to be extra cautious when packing up to make sure no litter is left behind. Most anglers are very responsible when disposing of their litter, but it only takes one careless person to endanger the life of an animal.

“If any member of the public sees discarded litter around if they could pick it up and put it in the bin they may save an animal’s life.

“All sorts of litter can cause problems: line can wrap around necks causing deep wounds in flesh and cutting off the blood supply; hooks can pierce beaks, become embedded in skin or get caught in the bird’s throat and weights can be swallowed causing internal injuries and blockages.”

If you spot an animal in distress, call the RSPCA’s helpline on 0300 1234 999. To support the RSPCA text LOVE to 87023 to give £3 (Text costs £3 + one standard network rate message).

(Great Yarmouth Mercury - May 1, 2017)

United Kingdom: Twelve swans shot on the River Thames in a brutal bout of animal cruelty within a stones throw of Windsor Castle

UNITED KINGDOM -- Twelve swans have been shot on the River Thames in a brutal bout of animal cruelty within a stones throw of Windsor Castle.

Two had to be put down after they were shot in the head, according a rescue and treatment center called Swan Support.

"The bullets were still embedded in two of the swans we helped this week, one had bounced off the eye socket of another and one went straight through the other."

After rescuing so many deliberately injured swans in recent months Mrs Hermon is no longer surprised by anything.

"It makes me more angry than upset now. Why do they do it?" -- Wendy Hermon from Swan Support

Eight were blasted with an air rifle shot on January 29 while a further four were shot on January 24.

The first four birds were all shot in the eye.

A month ago a swan was found battered to death in Barry Avenue, a short distance away.

A month before that three birds were shot on the same stretch of river, the Windsor Observer reported.

Information to police about any attacks on river birds by call 101 or Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.

(ITV - Jan 29, 2017)

United Kingdom: Train commuters angry for the delay until they find out what caused the delay in reaching the station

UNITED KINGDOM -- It wasn’t strikes or severe weather that left these train commuters in a flap this morning.

A South West Trains service from Teddington was forced to crawl along behind a stubborn swan waddling on the tracks – for two miles.

 

 

Footage shows the swan sauntering with the train just a meter behind, following the bird extremely slowly as it pulled into Kingston Upon Thames station.

Dan Billinghurst, 23, who filmed the video, rushed to the station to catch the 9.33am train when he saw the swan was leading the way.

He said: ‘The train was rolling into the station at two miles per hour.
‘People commuting to work were getting frustrated and one man was so annoyed he got on the tracks waving his laptop in one hand and tried to manhandle the bird.

‘It was one of the most bizarre things I have ever seen.’

Bee Whitaker, 20, a student was waiting at Kingston station for the delayed train into central London for work.

 

‘People were irritated by the delay but then when they saw what it was everyone was asking each other about it and laughing as well as taking photos,’ she said.

South West Trains later posted a photo of the swan being released and joked on Twitter that the animal ‘did apologize for the delays.’

A spokesman for the rail service said: ‘There was a swan on the line near Kingston for a short time. It was removed around 10.30 today. Services returned to normal shortly afterwards.’

(Metro UK - Jan 13, 2017)

Michigan: Family of swans intentionally run over and killed on side of road

MICHIGAN -- A Scio Township resident found the bodies of a swan family apparently run over and killed by a vehicle.

For the past few months, Emily Bauerle and her children enjoyed watching a pair of swans and their cygnets on a pond at the southwest corner of Parker Road and Scio Church Road in Freedom Township, just west of Ann Arbor.

Bauerle drove past them four times a day, and would see them grooming, paddling in the water and taking off and landing. With her children, Bauerle occasionally stopped to watch them.

"It has been a treat to watch this swan family grow over time," she said.

 

As of early August, the cygnets were nearly the size of the adults.

The swans often were close to the road, Bauerle said, and she was worried about their safety. Her concern was well founded.

On Wednesday, Aug. 10, she saw the birds lying dead on the side of Parker Road, apparently run over by a vehicle.

 

"It appears they had been sleeping in one of their usual spots and someone ran 3 to 4 feet off the road, within mere inches of the swamp, and hit them," Bauerle said. "I don't know for sure if this was intentional or not. I hope not, but my gut tells me otherwise. It saddens me that people can't leave nature alone."

Bauerle took photos of the dead birds, which are graphic.

The Humane Society of Huron Valley said it plans to issue a statement later Wednesday.

The Washtenaw County Sheriff's Office now says they believe the swans were deliberately run over and are investigating the incident. Trumpeter swans are considered a threatened species in Michigan.

In 2009, a family of swans living in a pond at the same intersection were found dead and had head wounds, according to Ann Arbor News records.

(MLive - Aug 11, 2016)

Michigan: After running over and killing a swan with his jet ski, Frederick Clingen, 48, threw his body into the woods

MICHIGAN -- A man accused of killing a mute swan with a personal watercraft has pleaded not guilty to the misdemeanor charge, according to the Michigan Department of Natural Resources.

The suspect, Frederick Clingen, 48, of Muskegon County, was arraigned Monday, June 27, for taking a protected animal, according to Lt. Gerald Thayer of the DNR's law enforcement division. The misdemeanor charge carries penalties of up to 90 days in jail and a $1,000 fine.

A complaint was called in at 2:20 p.m. on June 11 from Half Moon Lake near Muskegon County's Moore Park, Thayer said.

That caller gave a good description of the suspect and the white and yellow Seadoo he was riding, officers said.

A DNR officer talked to several witnesses who said the suspect was circling the swan and then intentionally struck it with his personal watercraft, killing it.

He later located the PWC at a dock associated with a residence on the lake, Thayer said.

The suspect said that the swan was preventing him from coming into his dock so he "tried to scare it away by circling it" at which time he "accidentally" hit it. 

The suspect's father then retrieved the dead swan from the water and placed it behind his residence in the woods, a DNR officer said.

(MLive - July 1 2016)

Earlier:

• Michigan: Swan run over and killed by jet ski on Half Moon Lake

Michigan: Swan run over and killed by jet ski on Half Moon Lake

MICHIGAN -- A Muskegon County man is facing punishment by the DNR after they say he killed a mute swan on Half Moon Lake near Casnovia.

Conservation officers suspect it may have been deliberate and have submitted evidence to the county prosecutor. The swan was the male in a mating pair that hatches a family on the lake every spring.

Most agree the death was sad, especially since swans mate for life.  But there is disagreement on whether it was an unavoidable accident.

“The jet ski driver was coming in to park and let his granddaughter off and the swan came right at him and he didn't have a chance to turn away,” explains Fred Clingen, who says he saw what happened. “It hit the front of the jet ski and went under.”

Frederick Clingen is the one who is charged with killing the swan.

“I’ve seen jet skis do circles around him, I’ve seen people throw rocks at him,” says Half Moon Lake resident Iesa Carlson. “We have been here about 19 years and he has been here that long, too.

"It’s sad he’s not here anymore, that somebody…that this happened to him.”

Last year someone shot the same swan killed by the jet ski with an arrow.

People around the lake helped nurse him back to health. But, they say there was no chance he could recover after going under the jet ski.

(WZZM13 - June 30, 2016)

Mall-loving swans freak out Danvers shoppers

MASSACHUSETTS -- The seemingly never-ending snow and cold this winter has driven many couples to the malls for an escape.
 
That includes an unusual couple, mated for life, who seem to like the parking lots at the Liberty Tree Mall and Endicott Plazas so much that they are reluctant to leave, according to police and health officials.

That couple would be a pair of swans, apparently frozen out of their usual nesting spots.

 

 

The swans have sought refuge in the busy parking lot in front of Best Buy and Target at the Liberty Tree Mall or at the nearby Endicott Plaza in the vicinity of Laser Quest.

And they have not gone unnoticed.

Police posted on Facebook Tuesday they have been receiving “an overwhelming volume of calls relating to the swans that have taken up residence in the parking lots around town.”

The message from police and health officials is simple: Don’t feed the swans. Beyond that — forget about them.

“The Animal Control Officer has been checking in on the swans daily,” police said. “They are not in distress at this time.”

“This winter has definitely been very hard on wildlife,” said Ami Bowen of the Animal Rescue League. “We have encountered several swans in unusual places.”

(Salem News - March 4, 2015)

video from Salem News

 

Peabody firefighters run 'swan taxi'

MASSACHUSETTS -- Boston police made way for ducklings, and Peabody firefighters provided taxi service to a swan Friday.
 
The swan decided to “make itself comfortable” in the driveway at Engine 5 on Lynn Street, in front of the truck garage door.

Firefighters said that the swan was uninjured, but had chosen a “nice, sunny spot” and wasn’t eager to move. Firefighter John P. Spofford came to the rescue to get the bird to its proper home.

“We didn’t have a box or anything, so I managed to pick her up, put her on my lap, and we drove to the pond in the truck,” said Spofford.

Spofford is often asked to get involved in such situations because he is a licensed wildlife rehabilitator in Salem. He happened to be out on a routine fire truck detail when the call came in about the swan. Since the Animal Control officer was unavailable, Spofford headed the rescue mission.

He made the call that the swan was OK to be released into the appropriate wild environment.

“The best we can hope for is to put it back in the wild,” said Spofford. The firefighters brought the bird to Brown’s Pond, where Spofford carried it to a snow bank and guided it towards a spot of open water.

“As soon as her eye caught sight of the water, she went right in it and she was fine,” said Spofford.

(The Salem News - Feb 13, 2015)

River Cam 'turns red' as shocked crowd in Cambridge watches dog 'rip swan apart' in latest deadly attack

UNITED KINGDOM -- A shocked crowd looked on in horror as a dog “ripped a swan apart” beside the River Cam.

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)

Swan shot twice through head with CROSSBOW makes miracle recovery and is freed into wild

UNITED KINGDOM -- Two bolts passed through the bird's skull and neck but feathered fighter managed to regain fitness after talented vets performed emergency surgery

A swan found with crossbow bolts embedded in its head is set to return to its natural habitat - just three weeks after being found with horrific injuries.

The swan was caught by a RSPCA officers on a canal near Widnes, Cheshire, on June 18.

They attended after distressed calls from the public who saw the stricken bird on the water.

One of the bolts had gone through the swan’s windpipe, leaving him needing an air sac intubation to help him breathe.

The injured bird had also been shot several times with an air rifle.

The adult male was taken to Village Vets in Woolton, Liverpool, where vets carried out an emergency operation on him.

He was transferred into RSPCA care at Stapeley Grange Wildlife Centre to recuperate.

 

The injured bird can now swim and feed itself and has been mixing with other swans at the centre near Nantwich.

Cheshire police are continuing investigations into the gross act of cruelty and have asked people in Widnes to "search their conscience" if they have any information about the culprits.

(Mirror UK - July 8, 2014)

Pensioner, 87, carries injured swan to safety after attack by dogs

UNITED KINGDOM -- AN 87-YEAR-OLD woman carried an injured swan to safety after it was savaged by five dogs.

The distressed pensioner, who asked not to be identified, contacted the Mail in tears after witnessing what she described as an ‘horrific’ attack on the bird.

She said she was walking along the river near Waterside Road in Stapenhill on Thursday afternoon when she saw the dogs viciously biting the swan.

“I just couldn’t believe what I was seeing,” she said.

“Other members of the public were shouting at the dogs’ owner to get them under control, but she just stood there not doing anything.

“A young lad managed to kick one of the dogs off the swan and the poor bird was left lying helplessly on the floor not moving. Its leg was hanging down, feathers had been ripped out and it was bleeding heavily. It was in a bad way.

“I don’t know how on earth I managed to do it, but I picked the bird up and carried it to Burton Wildlife and Animal Rescue Centre in Lincoln Road, which is quite far away carrying something as heavy as that — and especially at my age.”

The Stapenhill pensioner, who is a dog owner herself, said she wanted to raise awareness about keeping dogs on leads around swans.

“It’s always big dogs that get the bad press for being vicious, but these were small dogs which attacked this poor bird. It just goes to show, any type of dog can be dangerous and can get out of control.

“Dog owners should keep them on a lead and not let them near swans. An attack like that is disturbing for anyone to see. It’s really upset me and shaken me up.”

Lindsay Newell, founder of Burton Wildlife and Animal Rescue Centre, said the swan had sustained serious injuries but she was hopeful it would recover.

“It has puncture marks, feathers on a wing have been ripped out, and it has a substantial leg injury which has left it unable to walk at the moment. It is also badly bruised and shaken up.

“We have treated the bird and we’ll be caring for it until it is fit enough to be released.

“I’d like to praise the old lady who brought the swan to safety as it may have been a different story if she hadn’t.

“I’m really amazed that she managed to carry such a bulky, heavy and an exceptionally strong bird so far. I’d like to say a massive thanks to her.

“I’d also like to remind people that it is illegal for dogs to be out of control in a public place. Dogs should be kept on leads around swans.”

(Burton Mail - October 13, 2012)