Charity Swan Support says bird shooting is ‘getting worse’
SEVERAL bird shoots have taken place in Windsor and Slough this year.
The Datchet-based charity Swan Support, which is a swan rehabilitation center that cares for injured birds, explained that the situation is “worsening” throughout 2022.
Wendy Hermon, Swan Support Manager, said: “It’s just frustrating and getting worse.
“They’re just bored, brainless people who don’t care about those birds.”
Ms Hermon added that it was ‘beyond tiring’ for her team at Swan Support.
She said: “My ideal solution would be for someone to get caught and be an example, they need to be punished for what they do.”
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Resident Anthony Ford, or Windsor, who witnessed some of the shootings in Windsor, said: ‘These guys just don’t stop, I’ve seen it all before, if the progress towards air guns and the targets are moving towards children, toddlers and pensioners because if they get away with it for so long, without questioning, without arrest, nothing is being done to apprehend them, why change?
Here is a timeline of the shootings that have taken place in Windsor and Slough since the start of the year.
March 10, 2022
A swan was shot in Wraysbury on Thursday March 10 where Swan Support witnessed the incident.
March 16, 2022
Two swans believed to be a breeding pair were shot in a canal in Iver.
Swan Support, a swan rehabilitation center in Datchet, found the birds on the Grand Union Canal at Mansion Lane on March 16.
After pulling them out of the water, the charity discovered they had been shot, possibly by an air rifle.
Swan Support added that the two birds were likely to breed and would have been settling in to become a family later this spring.
Images showing the pair of swans rescued by Swan Support. Photos: Swan Support
April 18, 2022
A goose has been rescued after being shot in the back along a river in Dorney.
Swan Support went to the goose on the Jubilee River to find the female bird had been targeted with a crossbow.
Ms Hermon said that due to its black feathers, the bolt was not easy to spot.
She thought it was shot a few days before Swan Support came down to help.
Image: Swan Stand
April 25, 2022
A pigeon was shot and kicked repeatedly at the Riverside on Maidenhead Road in Windsor on April 25.
A resident reported the incident to Thames Valley Police saying he saw two youths using a catapult to shoot the pigeon.
A Thames Valley Police spokesperson released a statement about it.
They said: “For this incident, police were called at around 3.15pm and 3.30pm on Monday April 25, where it was reported that two men had used a catapult to shoot at a pigeon and had kicked it. foot several times.
“The offenders are described as two white youngsters, aged between 15 and 16.
“The male with the catapult had mouse brown hair, 5ft 6in tall, a dark tracksuit with a hood.
“The other man had black hair, gray joggers and a black man’s bag.
“We ask anyone who has information about this incident or may know who these young people are to call 101 quoting reference 43220177451.”
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May 5, 2022
Swan Support confirmed there was another incident where a man was spotted on the railway bridge near Bath Island, Windsor, firing a pistol at wildlife.
May 11, 2022
Just this week a swan was shot down in Windsor with a catapult which Swan Support also attended to save him.