Britons complain of illegal swan killing

LUTON, England, Aug. 7 (UPI) -- Britons living near the Grand Union Canal say they are struggling to stop Polish and Lithuanian immigrants from illegally killing local swans.

Members of Luton Angling Club said they are trying to get British Waterways to erect a sign they designed to inform newcomers that wild swans are officially the property of the queen, and killing one is punishable by a six month jail sentence and a $10,000 fine, The Daily Mail reported Tuesday.

"Every time I try to explain to them that they can't treat our waters as a larder they just pretend they don't understand," club official Joanne Edwards said of her contact with illegally hunting immigrants.

"On one occasion there were four of them fishing and they'd already taken a fish without putting it back," she said. "Then they got a swan round the neck and pulled it back up on to the bank and the four of them were fighting with it, but luckily it was strong enough to pull away."

"A few years ago there were lots of swans on every section of the canal. I recently patrolled a six-mile stretch and saw just two. They're virtually gone from quieter stretches."