Wildlife supporter describes moment he found a swan mauled by a dog as he urges owners to keep them on leads
“I try my best to protect these birds, but I can’t always do it.”
A wildlife conservationist is urging dog walkers to keep their pets on a lead after another animal was mauled by the harbour.
You may know him as ‘the swan man’ - the one who sits by Emsworth Harbour, swarmed by his avian friends. He has been doing it for years, and is instantly recognisable to anyone who heads down towards the waterfront.
His name is Gordon Chandler, and he says he was “almost in tears” when he found a swan that had been viciously attacked. Speaking to The News, he has described what he saw, and what more could be done to look after the harbourside birds.
He said: “Dogs are the biggest threat to these guys, they can’t fend for themselves against that amount of force. I was walking around the harbour when I found this bird; it was clearly in shock and in a tremendous amount of pain.
“I took it to the vet in Emsworth, and from there it went to the wildlife rescue team. They phoned me two days later to say that the wing had to be amputated. That’s how badly it had been attacked.
“I try my best to protect these birds, but I can’t always do it. I put all my time and effort into looking after them - I was almost in tears when this happened.”
Hoping that this won’t happen again, Mr Chandler is now campaigning for people to keep their dogs on leads. But he’ll be doing so without the support of Havant Borough Council.
He explained how he has approached the council on numerous occasions for help, but has been turned down each and every time.
Mr Chandler said: “I tried to contact the Green Party at the council, to see if they were prepared to help me put a sign up to keep dogs on a lead around the swans.
“I have tried that four or five times in total, but the council said it wasn’t in their natural interest to do so. I don’t think it would cost that much to put up, just to keep the birds safe around dogs.
“At the end of the day, there should be more done to protest these swans than what there is now.”