Youth admits to throwing firework at swan
Monday October 06 2008
A YOUTH has admitted to throwing the firework that maimed a swan on Dublin's northside two weeks ago.
Gardai questioned several people about the incident in Stardust Memorial Park in Coolock.
Residents were disgusted with the attack, which destroyed the swan's bill. The bird was later humanely put down at a vet's in Rathfarnham.
It was originally thought a firework had been deliberately inserted into bread fed to the bird in the park.
However, the teenager, who has admitted to the incident, said he threw the firework into the pond close to the swan and did not feed him. Due to his age, the youth is now being dealt with the under the Juvenile Liaison Scheme.
The DSPCA said it would continue to monitor the safety of the four other swans in the park.
"It's not just as simple as moving them somewhere else -- swans are very territorial. If you moved them somewhere, they would probably fly back," a DSPCA spokesman said.
"If there is another issue, we will continue to talk to the wildlife ranger," he added.
residents
After the attack, residents living close to the park gave public assurances that they would do their best to ensure the swans would not be harmed again.
Last May, the DSPCA had to deal with the case of four new-born kittens that were abandoned in a bottle bank.
The new-born kittens, who were blind and cold, were covered in shards of glass in a shopping bag at the bottom of the bank. Their cries were heard by a member of the public who contacted the DSPCA, but the kittens later died.
Orla Aungier of the DSPCA said: "What kind of society do we live in that these little creatures were dumped deliberately in a place where they could not be rescued?"
- Jane Last
