Swans suffering due to 'broken glass' riverbank

Swans are suffering from infections caused by concrete riverbanks that feel like "broken glass", according to a wildlife hospital.

Things have got worse at the River Crouch in Hullbridge in recent months, according to South Essex Wildlife Hospital, which has seen "six or seven" cases of bumblefoot.

The bacterial infection breaks the skin on the bottom of birds' feet via bits of grit, causing them to become very inflamed.

Sue Schwar, the hospital's founder, said: "Unfortunately, water birds have very soft feet. They're not really designed to be kept on concrete... it's like us walking over broken glass. It's really painful for them."

She added: "It just seems to be on the increase, certainly in the last few months. We've had six or seven birds from that venue that have got bumblefoot.

"They need some area if they're coming out of the water that isn't sharp, that isn't rocky, that's soft light grass that they can stand on, which would be a more natural ground for them."

The hospital recently took two swans back to its base in Orsett.

Schwar said she would typically operate by opening the abscess and stitching it back up, but they have had to put one swan down.

"Our tendency is to do one foot at a time, but obviously if you perform a surgery on one foot and the other foot is still bad, effectively the animal's got no feet to walk on.

"It's a bit of an impossible thing for a wild animal to cope with."

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