A cygnet has been reunited with its family after becoming entangled in discarded fishing line in Sandown, prompting a fresh plea for anglers to dispose of tackle responsibly.
Volunteers from Friends of the Animals were called out yesterday afternoon (Sunday) after a concerned member of the public spotted the young swan trapped in fishing line.
Volunteer Dave, who was closest to the scene, responded quickly and found the cygnet struggling while its distressed parents remained nearby.
Working alongside the member of the public who raised the alarm, Dave carefully untangled the bird before carrying out checks for any injuries.
The cygnet was then placed on a towel for a short time before being safely reunited with its parents, with the family swimming away together.
A spokesperson for Friends of the Animals said:
“We want those that use fishing line and lures etc to please be mindful and discard them safely due to the damage and suffering that can occur to our wildlife.”
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The charity is reminding anglers to take all used fishing line, hooks and lures home for safe disposal, as discarded tackle can pose a serious risk to swans, ducks and other wildlife.
You have obviously not seen the numpties
who fish!
Lol
Don’t hold your breath, poor birds don’t stand
a chance.
Theres some illogical reasoning here. Who says the fishing line in which the cygnet was entangled was ‘discarded’? Anglers don’t discard line or hooks and weights etc. They lose them when the line breaks after becoming snagged. I’m not an angler but lived in a house on a beach for a long time. We saved several entangled gulls and a couple with hooks through their beaks. Of course anglers shouldn’t deliberately discard their kit, but neither should people deliberately leave broken glass, disposable barbecues and soiled nappies behind them after using the beach.
Too many wrongs don’t make a right.
Not worth trying to have a debate with you, Enough is Enough. I firmly believe in free speech, which inevitably opens the door for people of limited intelligence and ability to think and reason and express themselves clearly. Shame but thats how it is.
Bless you.
Were you a Numpty when living on the mainland, or did it happen when you moved to the island.
My guess is when you made the move across the solent.