Swans attacked on Union Canal
KILLING or injuring a swan famously gets you into trouble with the Queen so the “nasty cowards” shooting the birds near Uxbridge on the Grand Union Canal better watch their backs.
Rescue charity Swan Lifeline says there has been a rise in swans being shot on the Slough Arm of the Grand Union Canal, with a male bird shot in the head in the latest attack.
The charity says hooligans armed with airguns and hunting catapults are attacking swans on the canal, but aren’t getting caught due to a lack of CCTV and forensic evidence.
“Its just nasty and cowardly,” said Caroline Simpson, a charity trustee, who added that it has been an issue for a number of years but is getting worse.
“Shooting a swan is easy to do and the [people responsible] just walk off and leave them to die.”
On New Year’s Eve a passer-by spotted a swan which looked like it had been shot “through his head”.
Rescuers paced up and down the canal’s Slough Arm to find the male swan, which they said was “wary of humans”.
The bird was rushed to Forest House Vet Group, in Windsor, where it was found a pellet had pierced the swan’s skull.
It had to spend five days at the vets’ before being returned to his partner on the canal.
“We managed to get him back to his partner but she was totally distraught,” Caroline told us.
“Swans tend to stay in relationships for life. In other situations where multiple swans are attacked and some die, we’ve had to release them separately.
“We’ve even had to relocate swans too scared to return to where they were shot.”
Police are not usually able to catch the shooters as they operate in the dark in areas with no CCTV footage, and the pellets left behind don’t leave a unique ballistic fingerprint like conventional bullets and are impossible to track down.
“I genuinely think it is just being done for the fact that they can,” added Caroline. “It’s easy to do, just walk off and leave them there.
“It is unbelievably upsetting for the people who live locally and spend a lot of time and energy with the swans, though.
“When the cygnets hatch the [volunteers] get very involved in the swans’ lives. They try to keep an eye out for anyone who wants to hurt the swans.
“But you can’t spot someone coming in the nighttime and doing something under cover of darkness, when there is no CCTV.”