Galway Swans in fine feather
A disease that was decimating the city’s swan population has been stopped in its tracks – thanks to the public.
Galway’s swan population had reduced from 100 to just 22 earlier this year because of what’s known as the Pink Feather disease. But the numbers are now back on the rise again.
The Galway and Claddagh Swan Rescue Service worked hard to raise public awareness about the cause of the disease – mouldy white bread.
Mary Joyce, Treasurer and voluntary member of the Service, explained that the swans were getting the disease from ingesting yeast or white bread.
“But thankfully, the public took note of our campaign and stopped feeding bread to the swans at the Claddagh and now the birds have stopped begging for food as they have got out of the habit.
“The swans at the Claddagh have never looked better. They look healthy and we appreciate that the public got the message and stopped feeding them.”
The Galway and Claddagh Swan Rescue were in a crisis situation with the number of calls about sick swans. In all, they have dealt with 250 birds of all types to date this year, which Mary says, has led to “a large veterinary bill”.
“We always welcome donations to cover our daily overheads, insurance costs and, at the moment, a large veterinary bill because of all the demands on our service during the year,” she added.
Donations can be made on the Swan Rescue Service’s Facebook page and the emergency number to call if a member of the public wants to report an injured bird is 086 3826471.
For more on this story, see the Galway City Tribune.