RESCUERS are still attempting to capture and treat an injured swan, which was shot in the head with a pellet gun.

The female swan and her breeding partner, who were living on a lake on private land in Stourport, were both shot numerous times, including in their heads, by intruders on January 9.

Wychbold Swan Rescue (WSR) was called out to the incident, but found the male swan had already succumbed to his injuries and was carried off the water by the land owners.

In order to try and catch the female swan, who had remained on the lake, WSR then briefly drafted in help from Hereford and Worcester Fire Service, but she was reluctant to being caught.

Over a week later and the team has still not rescued her, but have warned she will likely die without treatment.

“People are still trying but it can fly quite high. It keeps moving between the Severn and the canal,” said Jan Horrigan, of WSR.

“You can spend hours trying to catch them when they’re like that.”

She said in it’s current condition, having lasted so long, “it could survive, it depends where the pellets have gone and how wounded she is.

“There’s not a lot we can say until we’ve caught her and X-rayed her.”

Mrs Horrigan, who lives in Wychbold, has built a swan hospital unit at her home, and estimates she treats around 600 injured swans a year – having been part of WSR for 40 years.

She previously told the Worcester News: “We need to treat her because if infection sets in, she will likely die. Apart from that, she’s got a hole in her head and will be in a lot pain.”

When asked how swans deal with losing their partner, she said, “they do grieve” and it could take up to a year to get over a loss.

Mrs Horrigan deals with one or two swan shootings a year, going on to say: “It’s the coward’s way, to shoot them. Maybe they have a reason. It’s dreadful thing to do, it’s against the law.”

John Simons, a gun-owner from Stone, Staffordshire, contacted the Worcester News following the incident to condemn the actions of the shooters.

“As a responsible gun user of over 60 years – from the age of 12 – I am deeply concerned about what is, in effect, another attack on me and other innocent shooters.

“The matter was reported on a gun-owners’ internet forum, and generated some considerable disgust.”