Three swans hurt in Littlehampton despite hook ban

THREE swans have had to be rescued at Littlehampton in the past week after incidents involving crabbing lines.

The sudden spate has come as a blow to animal welfare groups, the harbour board and Arun District Council, which introduced a controversial ban on crabbing lines with hooks earlier this year.

Statistics showed a big reduction in the number of swans affected this year, until the past week's blip.

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One of the swans had swallowed a line on Saturday and needed an operation to remove the hook from its gullet. It was picked up by animal charity Wadars, which funded the treatment at the Grove Lodge veterinary surgery in Worthing.

Another swan swallowed a crab line with a bait bag attached to it, but no hook, and thankfully the line could be pulled out with no harm to the bird.

A third swan became entangled in a discarded line, but was also freed without any injury.

Wadars animal rescue officer Billy Elliott said: "It had been going very well this summer until this week, and we would like to thank people for their co-operation in not using crab lines with hooks. The number of incidents was down by about two-thirds until this recent spate.

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"This just highlights that people need to continue not to use hooks. We want people to enjoy crabbing. It's all part of the attraction of the harbour, but just to continue to be careful."

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