Fish tackle blamed for swan deaths and goose injuries at Chichester Lakeside
Wildlife rescuers say fishing tackle is leaving a trail of injuries and deaths among swans and geese at Chichester Lakeside Holiday Park.
Volunteers from West Sussex Wildlife Protection claim the problem has persisted for more than a year, despite repeated incidents.
The latest case, on Saturday 9 August, saw a female swan rushed to surgery after swallowing a large fishing hook. It’s now recovering at a specialist sanctuary.
Campaigners say it’s just one of several alarming cases linked to discarded fishing gear at the site, including swans tangled in line and a goose found weighed down by fishing weights.
A statement from West Sussex Wildlife Protection read: “Our wildlife rescue volunteers were called to Chichester Lakeside Holiday Park where a female swan was acting strangely.
"It managed to free itself from fishing line when being captured, but was found with a lump in its neck and was taken to Arun vets in Chichester.
"Their vets were unable to remove the hook due to its depth down the neck, so we took it to the Swan Sanctuary, Shepperton, where their specialist vet operated to remove a large hook. It remains there recovering.
"This incident follows a pattern of previous angling related incidents at Lakeside, Chichester in the past year and includes an adult male swan covered in pink fish attractant used by anglers, which was treated for two months at the Swan Sanctuary before release back at Lakeside.
"Shortly afterwards, this same swan was found with a fishing hook in its foot, which we removed.
"There was also a juvenile swan that swallowed a hook which tore the oesophagus, causing a massive infection and leading to it being euthanised.
"An adult Canadian goose was discovered weighted down with three fishing weights and line, which we removed, and a Greylag goose was found entwined with fishing line, which we also removed.”
A spokesperson on behalf of Park Holidays which owns Lakeside, Chichester has said: “We take our responsibility to protect wildlife on and around our fishing lakes very seriously, and we are committed to taking immediate steps to reduce the risk of harm.
"We will be getting new, dedicated tackle disposal bins installed at key points around the lakes as soon as possible, along with clear signage to remind anglers of their responsibility to fish responsibly and to protect the wildlife that shares the site.
"In addition, if our team catches anyone discarding tackle or fishing equipment in an improper manner, they will be served an instant ban from fishing our lakes.”