Two swans rescued but seven cygnets dead after diesel dumped in Northampton lake

Two swans have been rescued, but seven cygnets are dead after they became covered in diesel, which had been “callously” dumped in a lake in Northampton.

The RSPCA were made aware about the incident, at Kingfisher Lake, after people living nearby noticed the swans had become lethargic. There was also a strong smell of diesel around the water.

On Tuesday (July 18), four RSPCA officers attended to catch the swans so they could be cleaned and treated for possible ingestion of diesel.

Heartbreakingly, the swans’ nest hidden amongst trees was found to have seven dead cygnets.

RSPCA inspector Lauren Bailey, who was among the team rescuing the birds, said: “It is really important that we act quickly in situations like this. If oil is not removed from waterbirds it reduces the natural waterproofing in their plumage, leaving them at risk of dying from hypothermia.

“The swans also preen to try and clean themselves but while they are doing this they are not feeding and they will become weak - like these two swans - so we have to act quickly before this happens.

“When we arrived the team could immediately smell diesel around the pond. It is so incredibly sad that these birds had to suffer because of someone’s thoughtless act of dumping this fuel.”

The swans are now at a wildlife hospital, where they have been cleaned and are being monitored before being released back to the wild.

Lauren added: “We would really urge people to be considerate and to dispose of pollutants like oil correctly. Dumping it in a lake really does have such a negative impact on the wildlife and the environment - it can cause them to become ill and without proper treatment quickly this can be fatal.

“The fact that the swans’ seven cygnets died shows the terrible effect that this has had - it’s heartbreaking.”

The incident happened on the RSPCA’s busiest day of the year so far, when the charity received 4,060 calls to its national cruelty line - on average six a minute during opening hours.

Concerns for a wild animal that has come into contact with oil or other contaminants should be reported to the RSPCA’s emergency line on 0300 1234 999.