244 swan deaths in 6yrs

[kent marshman]

hi everyone, 6 yrs ago nearly 200 swans died after flying into powerlines near to wear i live i helped to carry the died swans off the fields because they were acting like decoys causing more swans to fly into the line, about 2 miles west is a national nature reserve which i drove past every day on may way to work, the reserve was exstended a number of years ago and lagoons were dug out for waterfowl not far from a powerline, theres allways been a problem with swan strikes on this section of line but after the reserve was exstended the number of strikes increased, so i desided to try and do something about it, for four years i contacted all the relivent bodies concerned the only help i got was from the company who owned the line, they place more diverters on the line with limited results, when i spoke to the warden 2 yrs ago i was shocked when he told me 38 swans had died that year so i told everyone concerned that if nothing was done i would have to go to the press, i was told off the record that the line would be place underground so i took their word and ive left it in their hands, 2 yrs on swans are still being killed, ive gone to the press but i havnt had much interest, ive been told the line will be place underground soon, i think people should be awear of what little the people who should have been sorting this out have done, not sure if i can name these bodies on here.

[naturelover]

hiya welcome,you bring very sad news to the forum,that is bad and they should be named if you want my opinion,where is there hearts i dont recon they have one to allow this to go on for six years and not do anything about it,look at the fuss that was made when they found the swans that were shot and buried,whats the difference,dead swans are dead swans dosnt matter how they died as long as its sorted out so that it dosnt happen again,sorry i am going on a bit but people like that make me sick,hope you enjoy the site.

[m1.carson]

Hi,

We get a few problems with swans flying "over" the bridges in Caversham, the council put up some flags along the cable, seems to have cured much of the problem.

Surely a few danglers along the cable would be a cheap good start, could use duff CD's as they work as bird scarers.

Max.

[kent marshman]

hiya, edf have placed diverters every few yards along the line, numbers have gone down but swans are still being killed, the reserve is owned by natural england (formerly english nature) they just say its not their prob, i contacted The RSPB who said they couldnt do anything , its a sad day when the people you think are there to sort out probs like this dont seem to care,

[naturelover]

hi kent this country dosnt get any better dose it,i always thought the swan was like a royal and god forbid if anyone who hurt them,dose that not hold anymore,the royals are the only people that can kill and eat a swan,so why has every thing changed these days ?

[kent marshman]

hi naturelover, i got an email from THE RSPB to day all theyve told me is go to the press, makes you wonder what their there for if its not to protect birds, think ill have to give up on this.

[bugsy]

Easy for me to say as I don't have any helpful suggestions to give right now, but don't give up Kent.

[kent marshman]

thanks bugsy,

[wild flower]

Hello Kent Marshman

What a terrible story. It is sad that you seem to be the only one that cares . You need an outcry from people in the local area about what is happening to the swans. I would not be afraid of pulling at heart strings by sending photos to the papers.

I suggest you tell the papers that this carnage is continuing in the full knowledge of the organisations that should be protecting these animals (by the way have you tried the RSPCA?). Natural England do have the power to initiate this sort of discussion and encourage the energy company to look at how they can prevent these atrocious strikes.

A petition may be another idea.

[kent marshman]

hi wild flower, ive emailed the localand national press and local radio, no one seems to want to run the story ive been emailed by EDF saying the line will be placed underground in the next few weeks, EDF have been pretty good but its still taken 6yrs, i think the public should be aware of what goes on and i think N/E and RSPB should be acountable, people are very quick to condem shooting people like myself but we care passionatley about conservation and wildlife, the bodies concerned have let the swans down badly. p.s this is a great site with nice people