The cygnets, whose bodies were discovered between 9 and 10 a.m., were “quite clearly shot through the head,” a spokesperson for London Wildlife Protection (LWP) told This Is Local London. Tragically, they were among the first cygnets to successfully hatch in the park in some time, the spokesperson added.
Under U.K. law, the murder of a swan is punishable by prison time because the waterfowl are considered the property of the English royal family, according to My London News.
On May 1, four weeks prior, the corpses of two adult Canada geese were found floating in a lake in the park. The corpses were claimed by a swan sanctuary in the suburb of Shepperton and X-rayed to determine their cause of death. Based on the results, the Metropolitan police believe the geese were “killed by a missile shot by a catapult” the preceding night, a department spokesperson told My London News. Catapults can be purchased by anyone over 18 years of age in the U.K.
While members of the department’s wildlife division are investigating both sets of deaths, they have not made any arrests in the case and are appealing to the public for assistance in identifying the killers, according to My London News. However, they believe the deaths could be linked, presumably because the animals were dispatched in the exact same way.
The killing spree has local animal lovers rattled.
“I’m aware there is very little evidence to go on, but this now seems to be an extremely worrying pattern of behavior which is escalating. Beddington Park is a hub for families with young children and dog walkers and this kind of violence cannot be brushed under the carpet. There may be some that don’t consider wildlife crime important, but the law is the law and must be followed without fear or favor,” the LWP spokesperson said.
Eerily, an almost identical incident occurred around this time last year on the banks of the River Thames in Cricklade, Wiltshire, England. On June 16, a mother swan and two of her cygnets were killed by catapult pellets in an attack that locals condemned as “heartbreaking”, “shameful and evil,” and “sad and disgusting,” according to the BBC.
