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Once out of the water, the bird’s bill is treated |
Pond poachers ‘a threat to wildlife’
Swan is latest victim of illegal fishing lines being left after dark that pose danger to animals
POACHERS are targeting the Hampstead Heath ponds to catch fish for the table – and Heath wildlife experts are warning that by using illegal static lines they are not only decimating stocks but also putting wildlife in danger.
Last week a swan nearly died after swallowing a hook and line left by the poachers. The bird was saved after an exhausting, day-long rescue effort by Heath rangers and volunteers from a swan sanctuary based in Essex.
Fishermen say that when the Heath Constabulary finish work at 10pm each night, poachers have been sneaking onto pond banks that are difficult to reach, and putting lines out. They return just before daybreak to take the fish they have caught – an illegal act regular fishermen say is giving them a bad name.
The fishing traps are lines laid out into the ponds with large, baited hooks. Regular anglers use rods and nets, and carefully remove hooks before releasing the fish as soon as they have been caught. But the poachers leave the lines out overnight, and then eat the fish, which include bream, perch and pike.
On Thursday, a swan became tangled in one of the poacher’s lines.
Photojournalist Ron Vesta, who regularly walks on the Heath, spotted it in trouble and took these dramatic pictures. Rescuers, using kayaks, caught the bird and then performed a delicate pond-side operation to free the distressed animal.
Mr Vesta said: “It was horrible to watch – this magnificent bird was thrashing about and choking, and it took well over five hours to catch it and free the hook and line from its bill.”
Swan expert Barbara Edwards was joined by fellow volunteer Ian Cranston to catch the swan. Using a kayak, Ian spent two hours following the swan around the pond in a bid to tire him out and make it easier to catch and remove the hook.
Ms Edwards said: “The swan had the hook through its bill and the lines had become tangled with its wings. It had panicked badly and was in real danger.”
Because the bird’s wings were tangled up, Ms Edwards said she believed that if no action had been taken, the swan would also have been at risk from dogs or foxes.
She added: “It took us a long time and the bird was in a bad way.”
A spokesman for Heath managers the City of London said fishermen using the Heath had alerted staff about the poachers.
The spokesman added: “The hook and line was very crude. It was a fixed line attached after dark and left there to catch fish, which, if caught, is then eaten.
“This poaching obviously is illegal, but, more importantly, this sort of practice is very damaging to wildlife and something we condemn. We will be stepping up our patrols of the ponds as a result.” |
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