Swan death leads to fresh call for catapult ban

A fatal attack on a pair of swans has prompted a fresh call for a ban on the sale and carrying in public of catapults.

The female swan was one of a pair found by rescuers at Beddington Park in Sutton, south London, on Sunday morning, with an X-ray finding she had been shot in the head with a ball bearing.

Danni Rogers, a volunteer at Egham Swan Sanctuary in Surrey, has been campaigning for a change in the law which would outlaw carrying a catapult in public.

British Transport Police recently said a catapult was used to shoot at a moving train in Cambridgeshire.

Mr Rogers estimated there have already been 15 or 16 attacks on water birds in the South East in the first six weeks of 2025.

"To be honest it's no different to last year, it just seems to be ramping up again. It's not just swans, it's all types of water birds - so geese and ducks as well," he said.

The volunteer is concerned about attacks occurring repeatedly in the "same places".

Mr Rogers has relaunched efforts to have a petition debated in the House of Commons after his first attempt fell foul of the General Election.

He said: "When we first started the petition, it picked up a lot of traction because we were having so many attacks and it [the issue] was out there in public eye."

After a quieter period there has been an uptick in signatures during recent days - including 600 overnight "unfortunately due to us publicising and sharing the numerous attacks we've had", he added.

Mr Rogers' parliamentary petition needs 10,000 signatures to get a response from the government, and it will be debated in the Commons if it achieves 100,000.

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