Lothian's swan lead poison cases double
GARETH EDWARDS
The Scotsman
THE number of swans found with lead poisoning in the Lothians has more than doubled in two years.
Staff at Middlebank Wildlife Centre in Fife have seen a steady increase in the number of swans being brought in with lead poisoning.
Animal welfare experts believe the cause may lie with lead shot left behind after shooting parties.
Edinburgh-based animal rights group Advocates for Animals is now calling for tighter restrictions on shooting.
The Scottish Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals has appealed to members of the public to keep a watch for birds showing the symptoms of what is a potentially deadly problem.
Swans used to develop lead poisoning by ingesting lead shot used by anglers to weight their lines. But despite a ban on lead fishing weights, the number of cases has been steadily rising
and numbers have more than doubled, with the centre taking an estimated 25 swans a year from the Lothians with lead poisoning, compared to around ten just two years ago.
Cases have been brought in from Granton, Cramond, Musselburgh, Linlithgow, St Margaret’s Loch and the Wester Hailes canal in recent months. Sandra Boner, centre manager for the SSPCA Wildlife Centre at Middlebank, feared the rising numbers could be a result of the swans eating lead shot left in fields by shooting parties.
She said: "There is a lot of lead shot in the environment, and although fishing with lead weights has been banned, there is still a problem with the shot.
"Swans are foraging creatures so they will pick it up and ingest it, which can lead to them catching lead poisoning."
She asked members of the public to be on the lookout for swans exhibiting symptoms of the poisoning, as it could be treated if caught in time.
"If it has lead poisoning, the swan will isolate itself from the rest of its group, that’s one of the first signs," she said.
"They will look very lazy and they are unable to support their neck, so the neck will be back over their body, looking a little bit kinked. In some cases, they will also be staggering about.
"Lead poisoning is very, very serious for these animals and if it’s not treated in time, it can actually kill the swan."
A spokeswoman for Advocates for Animals said the problem highlighted why areas where protected animals such as swans live should be subject to tighter restrictions. She said: "Obviously, we share the concern of the SSPCA on this issue and there are unfortunately many locations where swans live that are also the sites of shooting.
"Fishing used to cause similar problems, with lead weights left behind, and we would like to see tighter controls on both these so-called sports in areas where they could harm not just the animals they set out to kill, but other creatures living in that area."
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