Hire boats crush and kill swan and cygnet at lock

A cygnet and an adult swan have died within 48 hours of one another, after being crushed by hire boats in two separate incidents.

Bath Swan Rescue said both deaths occurred at a lock in Bath, prompting the rescue team and boat hire centre to call for all boat hire facilities to carry information leaflets to be handed out to boaters, advising "how to safeguard wildlife and explain the legal consequences" of harming swans.

"As a team, we understand it isn't common for entire broods to survive in nature, and natural losses are part of life," said Amy Lovell, from Bath Swan Rescue.

"However, these deaths are a result of man-made structures built in areas where swans pre-existed."

"The swan lost today was a huge part of the local community. I'm sure lots of locals had their own names for him, but amongst our team he was most commonly known as Jeffrey," said Lovell.

"He fiercely looked after the things he loved- his partner, his home, his cygnets... and sweetcorn."

Lovell said there are signs at the lock advising boaters to contact the Canal and River Trust if swans or cygnets are present in the area.

"This is due to the risk of hypothermia or drowning when the lock operates," she said.

She said swans cannot typically get of the locks by themselves, using their wings, because they need 25m of space to take off.

"Unfortunately the boaters didn't let anyone know what had happened, but the kind person behind them overheard them talking about it," said Lovell.

"He jumped into action and found the deceased cygnet which had been left by the tow-path. He selflessly and kindly got the rest of the [swan] family back into the lock and slowly filled it, to let them home, before contacting us.

"His actions, no doubt, saved multiple other lives."

Lovell said the rescue team are in touch with the boat hire and are working on leaflets to be given to boaters.

"It will have advice on what to do if there's a swan in the lock and how to safeguard wildlife, and explain the legal consequences of harming them," said Lovell.

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