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Swan Poisoned by Angler's Lead Weight


Leon Roskilly

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There is a yatching club, and a canoe club that use the lake Brian, but as far as I'm aware, no engine driven boats. No shooting either. It is popular with young anglers, and I have seen parents take small kids there with little 4ft rods, and tackle of the type I mentioned earlier.

It's a strange water, 30yrs ago it was filled with perch, I've seen 30-40lb of medium sized perch caught in a session, and it was well match fished. Then one year, the perch just disappeared, a very few found floating, but that was the only evidence. Never did find out what was the cause of their sudden disappearance.

Angling is more than just catching fish, if it wasn't it would just be called 'catching'......... John

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Just sent this:

 

"I have just read your story at http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/west_yo...ire/5029872.stm and am most suprised by the glarring ignorance displayed by this piece.

 

Lead fishing weights in sizes that represent a risk to swanns and other water foul have been banned for more that 20 years.

 

The risk to Swanns from disguarded lead was identified back in the early eighties and the fishing tackle industry worked hard to develop viable alternatives before a ban was agreed jointly between government, anglers and the RSPB.

 

Please stop making angers out to be a bunch of uncarring environmental terrorists when we're not."

 

to here:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/newswatch/ukfs/hi/feedback/default.stm

Species caught in 2020: Barbel. European Eel. Bleak. Perch. Pike.

Species caught in 2019: Pike. Bream. Tench. Chub. Common Carp. European Eel. Barbel. Bleak. Dace.

Species caught in 2018: Perch. Bream. Rainbow Trout. Brown Trout. Chub. Roach. Carp. European Eel.

Species caught in 2017: Siamese carp. Striped catfish. Rohu. Mekong catfish. Amazon red tail catfish. Arapaima. Black Minnow Shark. Perch. Chub. Brown Trout. Pike. Bream. Roach. Rudd. Bleak. Common Carp.

Species caught in 2016: Siamese carp. Jullien's golden carp. Striped catfish. Mekong catfish. Amazon red tail catfish. Arapaima. Alligator gar. Rohu. Black Minnow Shark. Roach, Bream, Perch, Ballan Wrasse. Rudd. Common Carp. Pike. Zander. Chub. Bleak.

Species caught in 2015: Brown Trout. Roach. Bream. Terrapin. Eel. Barbel. Pike. Chub.

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The problem is that swans are very nice birds and that we [ anglers ] are a litte freaky for the rest of the world , because we cacth fish afther a long time waiting and we put him back .

And swans are not rats becuase if it's was a rat you have heard not one thing of the lead toxic dead of that beast because it's only a ugly rat

 

 

gr jerry

And as finishing touch

god created the dutch

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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

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The problem is that swans are very nice birds and that we [ anglers ] are a litte freaky for the rest of the world , because we cacth fish afther a long time waiting and we put him back .

And swans are not rats becuase if it's was a rat you have heard not one thing of the lead toxic dead of that beast because it's only a ugly rat

gr jerry

 

Can't argue with that! :sun:

And those who were seen dancing were thought to be insane by those who could not hear the music

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What a very good response this is,I agree entirely with what is written.

Lets not become complacent about our angling,there are many a "anti"just dying to get at us now they have got fox hunting banned.

I for one very much doubt that this Swan was poisoned because of an angler.

 

Re:Brian Carragher

Edited by oldnewby
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Anderoo the most people think so .

The higher the hug factor the more they like the beasts .

 

 

gr jerry

And as finishing touch

god created the dutch

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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 :unsure:

 

Anderoo it's small lead shot getting into the gizzards of water fowl that's the risk. There they are constantly ground around against other small stones in there and the metallic surface is, I imagine , kept exposed and worn away and the toxic coating ingested (lead oxide at a guess). Can't see that large leads could be a problem to carp - they're so dense they'd be unlikely to get sucked up and would be spat out p.d.q. And pass through quite quickly anyway if they did get swallowed.

 

As gozzer mentioned, cheapie kits from Lidl's and stuff on Ebay might well contain illegal small shot if they're manufactured without UK rules in mind. Dunno. I have some cheap split shot - what's a quick test for lead content?

Bleeding heart liberal pinko, with bacon on top.

 

 

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

 

Lets not forget that we are VISITORS at fisheries. The Swans, Ducks etc LIVE there. it is thier home.

 

We, as responsible anglers, should be doing our utmost to protect this environment and its wildlife.

 

It makes me so angry :angry: when I see "anglers" being aggressive towards the local wildlife because they cannot seem to cope with them, perhaps they should find a new hobby, like binge drinking or playing with the traffic.

 

We as anglers have a duty to protect our wondeful countryside and that definately includes the residents (wildlife) if not, then we deserve all the flack that we get IMO. As it is not just about catching fish. It is so much more than that.

 

Glad to hear that the swan is recovering :clap:

Best Fishes

Zaph'

--------------

http://www.tenchfishers.net

 

Zaphods just 'zis guy, you know..!

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what's a quick test for lead content?

 

Rub it on paper - not the glossy stuff. If it leaves a mark like a pencil, it's lead.

Species caught in 2020: Barbel. European Eel. Bleak. Perch. Pike.

Species caught in 2019: Pike. Bream. Tench. Chub. Common Carp. European Eel. Barbel. Bleak. Dace.

Species caught in 2018: Perch. Bream. Rainbow Trout. Brown Trout. Chub. Roach. Carp. European Eel.

Species caught in 2017: Siamese carp. Striped catfish. Rohu. Mekong catfish. Amazon red tail catfish. Arapaima. Black Minnow Shark. Perch. Chub. Brown Trout. Pike. Bream. Roach. Rudd. Bleak. Common Carp.

Species caught in 2016: Siamese carp. Jullien's golden carp. Striped catfish. Mekong catfish. Amazon red tail catfish. Arapaima. Alligator gar. Rohu. Black Minnow Shark. Roach, Bream, Perch, Ballan Wrasse. Rudd. Common Carp. Pike. Zander. Chub. Bleak.

Species caught in 2015: Brown Trout. Roach. Bream. Terrapin. Eel. Barbel. Pike. Chub.

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