Three Attacks by Fishermen on Swans in Queens Park

After the horrific Death of the mother swan who had 7 signets in the Queens Park which is still a mystery more attacks have happened this week. We heard disturbing news off a bailiff fisherman. He has witnessed twice in one day, two males fishing who purposely dangled bait in front of the cygnets and caught them up. The bailiff had to untangle them and threaten the males involved. Another witness told me how he had seen a fisherman hitting a swan with a keep net so that is a total of 3 attacks in one day. The mothers death is still a mystery as its claimed by the press that the RSPCA have no knowledge of it but it was quoted on Face Book that the park had called them and it was the wardens who had made the call but speaking to them this week they said they hadn't made a call and knew nothing about the dead swan. The body has disappeared and a request to the park were it went hasnt been answered. A vet who specialises in swans looked at our photo and said with out the body he cant be sure but it looked like a human attack from the photo as there were no canine teeth marks.

Legal status

As native wild birds, swans enjoy statutory protection under the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 and it is an offence to intentionally injure, take or kill a wild swan. 

The Act similarly protects the eggs and nests of swans. It is an offence to take or possess the egg of a wild mute swan, or to damage or destroy the nest of a mute swan whilst in use or being built. Unfortunately, swans and their nests are sometimes a target for vandals. 

Anyone seeing an offence against swans or other wildlife is encouraged to contact their police Wildlife Liaison Officer through their local police station.

There is history at the Queens Park of swan abuse with vandals stealing and smashing their eggs and no one does anything about it but now a new wildlife conservation group has been formed and the first meeting will be in the Queens Park pavilion Sun 6th July if you want to help save the wildlife in the park come along. You may wish to ask your local councillor why the CEC isnt doing anything to protect the wildlife as they have a duty of care. Since the attacks they have taken no action to patrol the park or get the Police in to investigate

Mother Swan Killed in Queens Park

The two swans have had 7 signets in the Queens Park a few weeks ago. Last year they had four signets the first time in 10 years but they all disappeared in mysterious circumstances. This year members of the wildlife group from the park setup Swan watch so members would come in during opening times to keep an eye on the swans. Last night 5 June at 7:15 they found mother the swan dead in the bushes it had not been eaten which suggests it was a fox that did this as that would have only killed for food. We believe its the results of a dog attack as dogs off the lead have been a problem for along time. Witness saw a greyhound type dog attack the signets a few weeks ago until a member shouted at the owner.

So far the signets are ok as dad below is looking after them taken today

A photo taken today of a dog off the lead heading towards the swans at 1:30. On Sunday a dog off the lead caused havoc around the children's play area for over an  hour. The park and the dog wardens refuse to do their jobs and protect both children and wildlife.

The Park has tried to cover up this story and are lying about the incident below you can see on QP facebook they claim it was dead in the water and reported to the RSPCA when it was reported the night before by our members why are they lying and trying to cover up what has happen?

Queens Park Crewe

13 hours ago

Sadly Swan found dead on the lake this morning. RSCPA notified. All indications are eaten, possibly by a fox, no indication of being ravished by dog. Hence previous assumption removed off the web as unnecessary. However, mum may possibly find it difficult to look after all her young, so please all keep monitoring them and help. She has plenty of food thank you to all. Thank you Waynne also for your prompt call.

Problems in the past are highlighted by this incident the same German Shepard was in the park off the lead on the day in questions.

Monday, April 8, 2013

Dangerous dog attack puppy Jax in the Queens Park

Monday @ 2 oclock I was standing by the Gulf War memorial in the park talking to a lady with a Yorkshire terrier and another man watch by the gardeners. A larges German Sheppard came towards of the lead both are dogs were on leads. I explained to the owner dogs must be on the lead in the park. The next minute his dog savagely attacked the lady ran for her life fearing for her dogs safety. Fortunately my puppy is an Alaskan Malumute and was able to defend his self while the man made vain attempts to stop his dog. He eventual got hold of his dog but became abusive and still refused to put it on a lead despite being shouted at by the gardeners and walked off shouting abuse with it still off the lead there were 9 witness to the attack.

We went straight to the dog wardens office and explained what had happened and told them he was still in the park so they could catch him. In front of 4 witness they state.

Its not an offence for a dog to attacks a dog and wouldn’t do anything or call the Police.

The don’t patrol the park

The cant enforce not having a dog on the lead in the park even though its stated as a bylaw.

Its not the councils job to deal with this sort of problem.

We pointed to another dog running loose and they did nothing for 15 mins then drove round the dog was a 3 min walk away.

We want the dog wardens to undergo further training so they can do their job properly a quick look at the official Government site https://www.gov.uk/control-dog-public/overview

Shows it is a crime to have a dangerous dog loose, the council can enforce it and it is their responsibility. The site http://www.nidirect.gov.uk/controlling-your-dog-in-public

States Dogs which behave dangerously may be seized by the dog warden, and their owners prosecuted. The dogs may be destroyed if the magistrate considers that they are a danger to the public.

This man is a regular in the park and never has his dog on the lead he normally goes by the bandstand between 12:30 and 2 oclock as do many others off the lead. The posh man and women visit at these times of the day with a black Labrador off the lead and they claim the law doesn’t apply to them. As the children are off school still and the park is now used for young children for education purposes its vital the dog wardens get out of their offices and catch these people. If a child had been near when it attacked it could have easily been killed by such a big dog. Its noted by many users that a certain councillor visit the park every day and sets a bad example with her dog off the lead.

Overview From Government website

It’s against the law to let a dog be dangerously out of control:

in a public place

in a private place where the dog isn’t allowed to be (eg a neighbour’s house or garden without permission)

The law applies to all dogs.

Some types of dogs are banned.

Out of control

Your dog is considered dangerously out of control if it:

• injures someone
• makes someone worried that it might injure them

A court could also decide that your dog is dangerously out of control if:

• it injures someone’s animal
• the owner of the animal thinks they could be injured if they tried to stop your dog attacking their animal

A farmer is allowed to kill your dog if it’s worrying their livestock.

Penalties

You can be fined up to £5,000 and/or sent to prison for up to 6 months if your dog is out of control. You may also not be allowed to own a dog in the future.

If you let your dog injure someone, you can be sent to prison for up to 2 years and/or fined.

If you deliberately use your dog to injure someone you could be charged with ‘malicious wounding’. The maximum penalty is 5 years in prison.

Dog Control Orders

Local councils in England and Wales can issue Dog Control Orders (DCOs).

These mean that in public areas with DCOs, you may have to:

• keep your dog on a lead
• put your dog on a lead if told to by a police officer, police community support officer or someone from the council
• stop your dog going in certain places - like farmland or parts of a park
• limit the number of dogs you have with you (this applies to professional dog walkers too)
• clear up after your dog

DCOs don’t apply to private land if you have permission from the land owner or person who controls the land.

Penalties

If you ignore a DCO, you can be fined:

• £50 on the spot (a ‘Fixed Penalty Notice’)
• up to £1,000 if it goes to court

You can’t be fined if you’re a registered blind dog owner.

DCOs in your area

Local councils must let the public know where DCOs are in place.

Example If dogs aren’t allowed in a park, there must be signs saying so.

If the council plans to put a new DCO in place, it must put up a notice and publish it in a local newspaper and on its website.

The notice must tell you:

• where the new DCO will apply
• if there’s a map and where you can see it
• where you can write or email to have your say - you should have at least 28 days

After 28 days, your local council will decide whether to go ahead with the DCO or change it. If there are lots of changes, the council will publish another notice, with the same timescales.

Report a dog

Anyone can report a dog and their owner to the police.

You can report a dangerous dog to your council’s dog warden service.

You can also report dog fouling to your local council.

What makes the above more vital is the schools now use the park for teaching young children the photos below are of what they learn and a powerpoint document can be download

BBC Tv in the Queens Park

 

Over the weekend the Queens Park was a battle ground between the CEC and protesters complaining about the state of the park. The protest came from a facebook group and was a bit rushed as the BBC came down but, the CEC turned up and some of his reported comments were

There are no muggings in Crewe and he can prove it.
He wants a group of volunteers to police and maintain the park.
He regards us all as having "A Crewe mentality"
He says we are all "Apathetic"
He wants to create jobs in Cheshire rather than throw money away, but would not create a "Park Warden" or "Park Keeper" job.
He wants a permanent police presence in the park, so shifting the responsibility of funding back onto the Police.
CEC did not put money in to Macclesfield Football Club.
CEC is one of the richest councils in the country. But why should they put any more money into the park given the fact that no one in Crewe actually cares about the park.

The cost of the wardens is not as great as the cost of the damage done in the park the quoted cost of damage in the park is £1000 per week. The main complaints are that even after over 7 million being spent the park is far from finished  and many of the paths are dangerous. The actions on Sunday were not part of the Friends of Queens Park who are the elected committee of the park. The friends meeting was held tonight and more volunteers turned up to get things done in the park. They will be picking up litter, repairing benchs, weeding, patrolling the the park and raising money.

On the plus side the Cafe now has CCTV installed monitored 24/7 as the cafe has suffered a lot of damage and break ins. More CCTV is to be install in the near future and the Police have provided Mosquitos for the project there is all so radio on site to instantly call the Police if there is any trouble. If you want to get involved you can contact the blog here

Boer War memorial

The Boer war memorial in the Queens Park is being excavated as part of the restoration and the old stones have been unearthed after being buried for years. Its not clear when it was buried but on the Queens Park site there are images of 35 years ago wit hit covered so its at least 35 years its been buried.

What was amazing was the bolts for the chains had been covered in crease and been wrapped around with material and they came out brand new with no sign of rust .

The restoration is on going so it will be interesting to see what else they find buried.