Tuesday 2 February 2010

A Sad Goodbye To An Old Friend

I learned with great sadness today about the death of a Cob Mute Swan at one of my local patches Reddish Vale.
The bird had been shot through the eye with an air weapon last week and tragically had to be put down a couple of days later.
Words fail me when I think about the kind of poor excuse for a human being that could carry out such a vile and barbaric act.

I had grown to love this particular Swan over the last few years...He really was quite a character and I photographed him on many occasions.

Worryingly this isn't the first shooting of this kind at the Vale...One of a breeding pair of Great Crested Grebes was killed last spring and I hoped that was to be an isolated incident.
I am told by Phil Kinsey who runs the Reddish Vale website that the Police are taking the death of the Swan very seriously and the local media are showing a great interest in the story...I'm just praying that a conviction is made because I feel very strongly that there is not enough emphasis on wildlife crime in the UK.

Phil has posted a report along with some poignant photographs here...



For more information about wildlife crime and how to report it, please visit...


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