Swan to be released at Lough Neagh after Ballyclare residents voice concern for bird’s safety

‘Debbie Doolittle’, who has been rescuing wildlife across Northern Ireland for over 35 years, detailed the issue on social media yesterday after residents, vets and Antrim and Newtownabbey Borough Council contacted her to raise concerns about the swan’s safety in Ballyclare’s Six Mile Water Park.

Commenting on Facebook, Debbie said: “There seems to have been a take over bid for the pond by two younger, more dominant swans, and this poor guy has been chased to a small corner under a tree.

“I’ve had many messages and calls from the public, vets and the council as to what to do about him.

“He has been there for a few weeks and we have been monitoring him along with many other residents who walk here and feed him.

“Ideally he would have flown away on his own, but this hasn’t happened. It’s been some time now since he’s even been able to access the water as the other two won’t let him even get a drink.

“He’ll have a nice rest tonight and some good food and tomorrow I will relocate him to Lough Neagh to retire and relax again.”

Meanwhile, searches are ongoing to locate a falcon missing from the Carrickfergus area. For more on this story, read here

--

A message from the Editor:

Thank you for reading this article. We’re more reliant on your support than ever as the shift in consumer habits brought about by Coronavirus impacts our advertisers. Please consider purchasing a copy of the paper. You can also support trusted, fact-checked journalism by taking out a digital subscription of the News Letter.