A MUTE swan had to be rescued by the RSPCA after crash-landing on the A48 dual carriageway near Chepstow.
The animal welfare charity was called to the busy road on Wednesday 24 July by police as the swan was in the middle of the road.
RSPCA Animal Rescue Officer (ARO) Sian Burton was soon on the scene and caught the young bird, who she described as ‘feisty’ and uninjured, before releasing him.
Sian said: “The disorientated swan had been in the middle of the road in oncoming traffic, but when I arrived luckily the swan had moved to the hard shoulder.
“We think that as a juvenile swan he may have been moved on from where he was by other swans and then become lost and crash landed onto the A48.
“Thankfully the police were on the scene and had lane closure in place.”
As well as the dangers of being blown off course in stormy weather or being injured by fishing litter, water birds such as swans and geese can sometimes confuse roads or car parks for rivers or lakes while flying overhead and can then come in to land on a hard surface, which can cause injury.
In the past, RSPCA officers across England and Wales have been called to rescue swans who have crash landed at pubs, churches, train stations, car dealerships and even a Covid-19 testing centre.
Sian found a place on the water away from other birds – and away from roads – near Caldicot Castle to release the swan.
“I was very pleased to see him happily swim off and he’ll be free to return to where he came from – hopefully away from busy roads in future,” added Sian.
“The swan has pink feathers which suggests he has pink feathers syndrome. This is caused by fungus that can spread in the water from bread being fed to waterfowl .
“Hopefully he’ll be eating a natural diet from now on, and we urge members of the public to ensure they feed waterfowl and other wild birds nutritious food.”
Anyone who is concerned for the welfare of an animal or who sees an animal in distress should visit the RSPCA website. We are asking people to help us by taking small, sick and injured wildlife to the vets or wildlife rehabilitators directly, so they can get the care they need more quickly. This frees up our specialist rescuers to reach animals suffering from cruelty and neglect during a busy period. For more information on what to do if you find a larger wild animal in distress please visit https://www.rspca.org.uk/adviceandwelfare/wildlife/injured.
Every five minutes in summer, someone calls us to report an animal being abused – and cruelty cases can reach a terrible peak at this time of year. No animal deserves heartbreaking abuse. That’s why we’ve launched the RSPCA Summer Cruelty Appeal in our 200th anniversary year because we need to take action together to help animals. It’s the responsibility of us all to show kindness and compassion to all animals; everyone for every kind.
