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RSPCA in River Nene swan rescue
A DESPERATE bid to prevent swans becoming the victims of pollution in the River Nene in the city centre has been launched.
More than 20 swans, which had been coated in motor oil, were rescued by the RSPCA yesterday in the biggest animal rescue operation seen on the river.
The oil had spilled into the river through a drainage culvert following Monday’s torrential rain where the swans gather at Town Bridge and Railworld.
RSPCA chief inspector Mark Thompson and animal welfare officer Kathy Hornig, along with officers from as far afield as Luton, used two rescue boats to coax the swans downstream to the Embankment.
There a team of officers gently hooked the swans and brought them to the safety of the bank.
Miss Hornig said the operation to gather up all of the affected swans could take up to three days because if the coated birds are not helped and their feathers individually cleaned they could die.
She added: “The oil can have a devastating effect because if they swallow it when they are preening it can kill them.
“Also, if their feathers are heavily coated in the oil then they can actually drown because it weighs them down, so it is important we get them out of the water as quickly as possible.”
The rescued swans will be transported to the RSPCA’s Eastwinch Wildlife Centre near King’s Lynn for emergency treatment.
Teams of volunteers will be given the painstaking task of cleaning every single feather that has been coated in oil using toothbrushes and solvent.
The Environment Agency was first alerted to the problem of oil being washed through a storm drain into the river at 5pm on Monday night.
A spokeswoman said: “We put booms in to contain the motor oil, which must have been blocked up in the culverts before the rain, and we will continue to monitor the situation.
“Due to the heavy rain the oil has dispersed and been swept away which means it will not have an adverse effect on the river or wildlife, but the swans bore the brunt of it as they were near the drain when the oil went into the river.”
Ward councillor Marion Todd said she was heartbroken at the news as it comes a week after a major clean-up operation took place on the river.
She said: “This just shows how fragile the river is. It is such a shame as the river was looking absolutely fabulous after the week of action down there.”
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Weather for Peterborough
Saturday 26 May 2012
Today
Sunny
Temperature: 11 C to 23 C
Wind Speed: 20 mph
Wind direction: East
Tomorrow
Sunny
Temperature: 10 C to 23 C
Wind Speed: 15 mph
Wind direction: East
