Swan Poisoned by Angler's Lead Weight

[Leon Roskilly]

See:

 

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/west_yo...ire/5029872.stm

[Elton]

I'm going to call for a ban on swans.

[gozzer]

I know the water concerned, and it's been popular with anglers for longer than I've been alive. If this is the first, (and I've not heard of another one), then one reported incident, in what must be over 100yrs of angling activity is not a bad record. I think the birds are more likely to be hit by one of the planes from the airport next to the lake. (or by a flying 3oz lead from someone fishing for the carp which now over run the place)

[Anderoo]

I have no problem with banning lead. I know it's better and easier to use than non-toxic, especially in the smaller sizes, but if we want to be seen as guardians of the countryside we have to make small personal sacrafices. And I'll stand by that whether the swan was poisoned by a fishing weight or not. And I'll chuck in livebaiting and keepnets too

[corydoras]

I thought that lead was already banned

[jerry weijers]

Do we then also all your cars in the ban because if i see how many wildlife they kill .

It's sad for that swan but is that the real reason ????????????????? of do they try to kill or sport litte by litte first lead then our live bait like fish than the worm and maggot and then ????????????????

 

 

 

gr jerry

[gozzer]

I thought that lead was already banned

 

You can use size 8 and smaller, and I think 1oz and above. But the report does say ONE lead weight, so it looks like someone may have been using illegal weights. From one of the small fishing kits that are sold in Lidl and such maybe?

[Anderoo]

I don't subscribe to that argument I'm afraid. Over time things change. The lead ban hasn't really affected fishing, and extending it won't either. What it would do is show people we care about the environment and suggest that when we say we're the guardians of the waterways we actually mean it. What harm can it do to say, 'OK, the swan may have died because of an angler's weight so we will step up and make a change for the better. It's not just fish we care about it nature as a whole.'

 

Without wanting to wildly change the direction of this topic, I personally think that voluntarily abandoning livebaiting and keepnets would help us in the long run too, but I realise people hold stong alternate views on this. As would reinstating the close season.

 

Can...worms...everywhere...

[Brian Carragher]

What a piece of total tosh both from the birs warden and the reporter who neither could be bothered to find out the true facts before jumping to conclusions or reaching a balanced report for a news item

 

If lead poisoning was responsible for the death of the swan then there would be more than one casualty and sick birds would have been commonplace for a number of years now.

 

Lead weights below 1 ounce have been illegal in Britiain and I believe the UK for about 15 years now except in Styll weights which are measured in 100ths of a gramme.

 

Swans like a number of birds swallow grit to grind down food particles in their crop before digestion and if shot is to be found then that is where it will be.

 

Non toxic weights are just that, non toxic to birds.

 

One 2,3 and 4 ounce weights are not swallowed by birds or swans so lets not let someone get away with this prejudiced statement without comment from us anglers.

 

If birds are dying of lead poisoning then other forms of pollution will have to be examined, just a thought but is there any boat traffic on this water or nearby from where the swan could have come

[Anderoo]

Something I've wondered about for a while now is the effect discarded 2-4oz leads are having on our waters and wildlife. Now it's fashionable to construct every carp rig to dump a lump of lead every time you get a run, there must be tons of the stuff laying around. An interesting thought - carp anglers are forever trying to cunningly disguise their leads so the carp aren't suspicious of the nearby bait, but on many waters I bet wherever they cast they're not going to be too far away from a discarded lead, and on some casts the boilie may come to rest right next to one