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A sad day at yelvertoft Marina


Stuart Maddock

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A very sad day at the marina today. A visitor boat came in for diesel and while the boater was making full use of the toilet facilities, Three large dogs ran out of control from the boat and set about our resident swan family. Sadly, one of the young swans was killed in the attack.

If you have dogs when you visit, keep them on a lead in our marina, or lock them inside the boat.

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39 minutes ago, Tuscan said:

As native wild birds, swans also enjoy statutory protection under the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 and it is an offence to intentionally injure, take or kill a wild swan.

 

Are you suggesting that the dogs should stand trial?

I am intrigued by Stuart's assertion that the boater was "making full use " of the toilet facilities. Did he have a video camera in the cubicle, or did he base his interpretation on audible clues?

I'm not convinced that swans "enjoy" anything. They look very morose most of the time.

 

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37 minutes ago, Tuscan said:

As native wild birds, swans also enjoy statutory protection under the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 and it is an offence to intentionally injure, take or kill a wild swan.

 

Yes, but in this case I don't think there is any suggestion that anyone 'intentionally' intended the swans to be injured or killed.

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Though I absolutely agree owners should keep their dogs under control these things do happen and I'd be surprised if the owner of these dogs isn't as upset as anyone, But it doesn't do to get too worked up about these things.  

We encourage a lot of birds to visit our garden and very often one of the neighbourhood cats will get one.  But if our dogs are about they will attack the cat...  Animals being animals.  

I saw a Heron beating a rat to death once, it was very unpleasant to watch but nature very often is. So many folk these days are brought up in the sanitised urban environment they have no conception of how wild creatures really live.       

Edited by Neil2
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2 minutes ago, Dr Bob said:

.....but next time, will it be a child (or even an adult) who gets attacked.

There is no defence for allowing 3 large dogs free to attack wildlife - unless it is on your own property. On other peoples property, wildlife can become very tame. Shame on that boater!

What breed of dogs were they?

Greenie. Not only is it an offence to injure or kill wild birds, it's an offence to allow your dogs to run out of control like that.

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2 hours ago, Stuart Maddock said:

A very sad day at the marina today. A visitor boat came in for diesel and while the boater was making full use of the toilet facilities, Three large dogs ran out of control from the boat and set about our resident swan family. Sadly, one of the young swans was killed in the attack.

If you have dogs when you visit, keep them on a lead in our marina, or lock them inside the boat.

Whilst I would not defend uncontrolled dogs for one moment, I would be interested to learn whether the incident witnessed, or just the aftermath? In my experience swans are extreemly agressive birds which will readily attack a dog if it comes too close. Were the dogs "defending" themselves or was it actually a deliberate act on their part to attack the swan? I

Edited by David Schweizer
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Just now, David Schweizer said:

Was the incident witnessed, or just the aftermath? In my experience swans are extreemly agressive birds which will readily attack a dog if it comes too close. Were the dogs "defending" themselves or was it actually a deliberate act on their part to attack the swan?

you are being ridiculous, the dogs should not be out of control, that  is the end of the matter. 

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46 minutes ago, Neil2 said:

Though I absolutely agree owners should keep their dogs under control these things do happen and I'd be surprised if the owner of these dogs isn't as upset as anyone, But it doesn't do to get too worked up about these things.  

We encourage a lot of birds to visit our garden and very often one of the neighbourhood cats will get one.  But if our dogs are about they will attack the cat...  Animals being animals.  

I saw a Heron beating a rat to death once, it was very unpleasant to watch but nature very often is. So many folk these days are brought up in the sanitised urban environment they have no conception of how wild creatures really live.       

If you KNOW your dogs will attack cats you have a duty to either train or control them, there are folk on the canals with cats who are family pets, maybe someone doesn't like dogs so it would be ok to attack them i suppose.

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Just now, LadyG said:

you are being ridiculous, the dogs should not be out of control, that  is the end of the matter. 

I am not defending the dogs or their owner (see my edit) but having had to fight a swan off from attacking a small child, I don't think i am being that ridiculous.

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57 minutes ago, Neil2 said:

Though I absolutely agree owners should keep their dogs under control these things do happen and I'd be surprised if the owner of these dogs isn't as upset as anyone, But it doesn't do to get too worked up about these things.  

We encourage a lot of birds to visit our garden and very often one of the neighbourhood cats will get one.  But if our dogs are about they will attack the cat...  Animals being animals.  

I saw a Heron beating a rat to death once, it was very unpleasant to watch but nature very often is. So many folk these days are brought up in the sanitised urban environment they have no conception of how wild creatures really live.       

It does do to get upset, the dogs are the responsibility of the dog owner, he should not have animals out of control, they can savage people or pets or wildlife, they should not be uncontrolled. Its dangerous and its illegal.

 

4 minutes ago, David Schweizer said:

I am not defending the dogs or their owner (see my edit) but having had to fight a swan off from attacking a small child, I don't think i am being that ridiculous.

Where was the parent? the parent is the responsible adult, it is their job to keep the child from danger.

A male swan in full attack mode is indeed dangerous, but small children should not be allowed to wander about unsupervised, in the country or in the town.

Edited by LadyG
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No excuse for having an out of control dog (or any other domestic animal for that matter) but agree that swans can be very aggressive.   We keep our own dog well away from swans, its the only time I have seen her hackles raised.  

 

 

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5 minutes ago, LadyG said:

It does do to get upset, the dogs are the rsponsibility of the dog owner, he should not have animals out of control, they can savage people or pets or wildlife, they should not be uncontrolled. Its dangerous and its illegal.

 

Where was the parent?

Now you are being ridiculous, the mother was with the child, and she was traumatised by the attack. The child was feeding the ducks when the swan just flew in across the water and knocked the child over with its wing, and then started to attack the child by pecking at her.

I can remember theincident well, it happened at Devizes wharf

Edited by David Schweizer
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23 minutes ago, Dr Bob said:

.....but next time, will it be a child (or even an adult) who gets attacked.

There is no defence for allowing 3 large dogs free to attack wildlife - unless it is on your own property. On other peoples property, wildlife can become very tame. Shame on that boater!

What breed of dogs were they?

Just to clarify - In no way am I saying that this was an unfortunate but acceptable event, dogs should never be let off lead until you are sure they are in an area where they will not cause harm, and I would not class a marina with wildlife as such an area.

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6 minutes ago, David Schweizer said:

Now you are being ridiculous, the mother was with the child, and she was traumatised by the attack. The child was feeding the ducks when the swan just flew in across the water and knocked the child over with its wing, and then started to attack the child by pecking at her.

I can remember theincident well, it happened at Devizes wharf

I have lived and worked in the country and have had far more traumatising experiences.

If you were able to fend off the swan, why could this  mother not do so? oh sry, she was "traumatised" Pathetic.

Anyway in this case three unsupervised dogs killed a young swan, hardly the same.

Edited by LadyG
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8 minutes ago, LadyG said:

I have lived in he country and have had far more traumatising experiences, if you were able to fend off th swan, why could this  mother not do so?

I live in the country, and have worked with farm animals,  but I am not sure what relevance that has to swans, they live on water both in the town and the country. The mother was very young and was involved in  trying to grab her child whilst the swan attacked her daughter, My role was to try and divert the swan, which is not an easy task, do you actually know how big a Cob swan is when it has it's wings outstretched?

Edited by David Schweizer
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6 minutes ago, David Schweizer said:

I do live in the country, but I am not sure what relevance that has to swans, they live on water both in the town and the country. The mother was very young and was involved in  trying to grab her child whilst the swan attacked her daughter, My role was to try and divert the swan, which is not an easy task, do you actually know how big a Cob swan is when it has it's wings outstretched?

yes, I do, I am sure you were very brave, it might have broken your arm!

Death of man by swan, rare.

Swan death by man, not so rare.

Edited by LadyG
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1 minute ago, LadyG said:

yes, I do, iIam sure you were very brave, it might have broken your arm!

I assume that is intended to be either sarcastic or ironic. Swans rarely injur adults but they can hurt them.

As for being brave, that is a silly suggestion, the mother and child were both frightened by the incident, and I merely did what any adult (male or female) would have done in the situation and that was to divert the swan's attention whilst they removed themselves.

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10 minutes ago, LadyG said:

yes, I do, i am sure you were vrey brave, it might have broken your arm!

Is there any documented evidence of a swan breaking an adult humans arm, I was always told its an old wives tale. Swans are not frightning vicious yes but easily delt with by an adult human. Our local swan lady was a slight old dear and I've seen her pick up a fully grown cob from the canal and believe me he didn't want to be picked up.

http://www.britishbirdlovers.co.uk/questions-answers/has-a-swan-ever-broken-someones-arm

Edited by Loddon
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I think anyone trying to fight a swan in full forward agression would be rather foolish, best thing is to throw a coat over their head. and retreat rapidly. The wings of a swan are easily strong enough to break a man's arm, and they are not going to let you get a hold of them. They are big, easily 7 ft across.

Geese can be scary too.

Edited by LadyG
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1 minute ago, Loddon said:

Is there any documented evidence of a swan breaking an adult humans arm, I was always told its an old wives tale. Swans are not frightning vicious yes but easily delt with by an adult human. Our local swan lady was a slight old dear and I've seen her pick up a fully grown cob from the canal and believe me he didn't want to be picked up.

No idea, but I doubt it. However they can be intimidating if they fly at you with beak open. 

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25 minutes ago, LadyG said:

I have lived and worked in the country and have had far more traumatising experiences.

If you were able to fend off the swan, why could this  mother not do so? oh sry, she was "traumatised" Pathetic.

1

I'm quite surprised by this change of demeanour from you LadyG...

Both the one-upmanship and perhaps failure to realise that different people are scared of different things.  Sometimes you can be scared enough that you can't do anything to remove the perceived harm, where someone else might just step in and diffuse it.

Some people have panic attacks at the thought of leaving their house, other people panic when their child is being suddenly attacked by a medium sized animal.  Some, allegedly, fear nought.

We judge ourselves by our intentions, and others by their actions.

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