Illegal shooting persists
Over the past few weeks we have been able to catch 19 Bewick’s swans wintering at Slimbridge.
These are birds that have swum up a netted tunnel trap known as a ‘swan-pipe’ and once caught, have had a colour ring fitted to their legs for future tracking. We have also taken the opportunity to X-ray each bird before release to see whether they are carrying any shotgun pellets in their body tissue and therefore whether they have been illegally shot.
We previously found that 23% of live Bewick’s caught in Britain between 2000 and 2009 had embedded shotgun pellets when X-rayed, despite being legally protected.
Although levels of illegal shooting have apparently dropped since the 1970s (when 34% were found to be shot), this is quite shocking given that this species is protected by law from Britain to Russia.
Our latest results show that five of the 19 swans caught recently are carrying shot, indicating that the problem of illegal shooting persists (see the X-ray of Whirls to the right).
This year, we will be investigating whether swans carrying shot in their bodies are less likely to survive than those that are shot-free.
Illegal shooting is of particular conservation concern for the Bewick’s swan population because its numbers have declined by 27% since the mid 1990s.
Although the main causes of the decline are yet to be determined (and are more likely to be related to weather and habitat), WWT is working hard to reduce any man-made causes of death in this species.
We are working with a number of conservation groups and governmental and non-governmental agencies and members of the hunting and farming community to reduce the levels of illegal shooting across their migratory range.
Illegal shooting needs to be addressed at both national and international levels, particularly given the long migrations undertaken, during which political boundaries are repeatedly crossed.
You can help us to act on the illegal shooting of swans by donating to our swan appeal.
