Photo: RSPCA / PA
2 Mute Swans and 5 cygnets shot,
wrapped in plastic bags
and thrown down bank of a stream.
A family of Mute Swans has been killed in a "senseless" airgun attack, in Benenden, Kent, England. "It's clear these poor Mute Swans have been shot and killed deliberately - one of the birds was peppered with pellets" an RSPCA inspector said. "It's absolutely disgusting that someone would purposely target and kill these beautiful birds, and it's heartbreaking that an entire family has been wiped out". The Guardian newspaper said that the RSPCA is calling for better regulation of air weapons after receiving 884 calls reporting air-gun attacks on animals across England and Wales last year. The Telegraph newspaper quotes Stephen Knight, a trustee of the Swan Sanctuary in Shepperton, Middlesex, saying the royal birds are targeted in such attacks because of their relationship to the Queen, who owns all the unmarked swans in England and Wales that swim in open water. Mr. Knight said: " The reason they pick on swans is because it is widely know that they belong to the Crown, so they are a symbol of the Establishment".
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BarrytheBirder
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