DOG SLAUGHTER IN THE UKRAINE - UEFA EURO 2012

Panda wrote:Oh AnnaEsse......that"s heartbreakimg. It is noticeable though that on the Continent the people are not so attached to their dogs and cats as the
Brits, on holiday I have often seen skeleton thin dogs on the prowl, looking for food.

malena stool wrote:

Panda wrote:Oh AnnaEsse......that"s heartbreakimg. It is noticeable though that on the Continent the people are not so attached to their dogs and cats as the
Brits, on holiday I have often seen skeleton thin dogs on the prowl, looking for food.

With the influx of continental immigrants we will see it happening here.
Already our freshwater fishing is being affected by immigrants bringing their own customs with them, immigrants who in their own country are permitted to catch and sell/eat freshwater fish. A lake I used to fish, quite successfully now carries no large fish whatever.
Up until a year or so back, on the canalised Soar about a mile or so from us there were a family of ducks who were there year in and year out, the children in the area used to stop off from school with their mothers and feed them, but nowadays they are nowhere to be seen.

The remains of a swan that has been killed and eaten in the camp

As civic projects go, using Lottery cash to restore walkways and bridle paths along the River Nene seems a decent enough way to spend charity money for the greater good.

Creating 50 miles of cycle routes, parkland and dozens of delightful picnic spots, the Millennium Green Wheel project - which runs through the Cambridgeshire market town of Peterborough - was designed to encourage families to make the most of living beside the river.

At a cost of £10million, it should be a delight. With recreated woodland and hedgerows alongside the water, the project was also intended to give a boost to wildlife in the area - a traditional mating place for Mute, Bewick and Whooper swans, which congregate in vast numbers as the Nene flows through Peterborough town.

With salmon and sea trout spotted in the river for the first time in decades, the regeneration work has also seen the Nene come alive with other aquatic life, ranging from fish such as pike, carp, tench and barbel, to water voles, snails and freshwater prawns.

But this week, with spring in the air and flowers in bloom on the banks, few local people were brave enough to venture for an evening stroll along this delightful waterway, following disturbing allegations that Eastern European immigrants are 'plundering' and 'pillaging' local wildlife.

For, according to a flurry of alarming reports, Eastern Europeans are stalking the creatures of the River Nene and, to the horror of local residents, are reputedly now targeting the city's swans.

Rather than simply enjoying the spectacle of these majestic birds, it was claimed that immigrants see the swans as a rich source of food, and are trapping the birds, then roasting them on open fires along the river bank.

The Peterborough Evening Telegraph, which this week revealed details of the scandal, has been inundated with letters and emails since claiming that 'legally-protected swans' were being 'butchered' by immigrants who are 'raping' Peterborough's waterways by snaring the birds then battering them to death with iron bars.

Of course, stories of immigrants killing and eating swans - once a treasonable offence punishable by hanging because all swans are Crown property and owned by the Queen - have emerged with increasing regularity since Britain's borders were thrown open to Eastern Europe in 2004.

Equally regularly, of course, such claims have been dismissed as urban myths spread by opponents of immigration, fabricated as part of some sinister racist agenda.

Indeed, no less an authority than Professor Roy Greenslade, media commentator of the left-leaning Guardian newspaper, denounced one report in The Sun - headlined 'Swan Bake' and revealing how the Queen's swans were being poached and barbecued by Eastern Europeans - as a cynical attempt 'to inflame passions' about immigration.

And, in truth, I was also deeply sceptical about these latest reports from Peterborough, believing there must be some other reason for the mysterious appearance of swan carcasses along the river - the work, perhaps, of foxes or some deadly swan blight?

But, I can report, the reality is even more disturbing than hitherto reported. Indeed, so bad is the situation that the people charged with protecting the river believe the situation is grave and acutely perilous for Peterborough's swan population if the killing is not stopped.

For the first time, there's irrefutable evidence that swans and vast quantities of fish are being killed by immigrants who have set up camp along the River Nene and are living off the land.

With more than 16,000 new Eastern European immigrants arriving in the past five years, those unable - or unwilling - to pay for accommodation in Peterborough have instead adopted the lifestyle of ancient hunter-gatherers, albeit with a penchant for vast amounts of strong Polish vodka and beer.

Living in crude shelters made of wood and plastic sheeting, scores of immigrants have taken up permanent residence all along the Nene.

Using crude snares and nets, the inhabitants are preying on swans, fish, rabbits, pigeons and even snails - all plundered from this expensively-restored habitat and cooked on open fires.

Indeed, at one camp I visited, hidden in bushes on the edge of a field 500 metres from the river and just a ten-minute-walk from the centre of Peterborough, it was abundantly clear that these people are dug in for a long stay.

This camp is also where three swan carcasses were recently found hanging from a tree branch beside a fire built around stones and other bricks which are used to balance heavy steel cooking pots.

Beside the cooking area was a living area - another wood and tarpaulin structure, with a table surrounded by boxes to sit on. Food such as sugar and bread hung in plastic bags from trees to prevent wild animals from eating them.

There was no one at home when I visited, but the camp was clearly still in use. As well as feathers and other bones around the fire, I found piles and piles of snail shells, which had been cooked and emptied of their contents.

A separate 'bathroom area' had been created ten metres away from the huts, where soap and toothpaste hung in bags from trees, along with a bucket used for washing.

The residents had even put down pieces of wood and cardboard to try to keep the mud off their feet following their morning ablutions. The camp was also littered with empty beer cans and vodka bottles.

Intriguingly, as well as all sorts of animal detritus, I also discovered one of the weapons of choice for capturing and killing swans. Propped against a tree was a thick, strong sea angling rod - built to take the strain of hauling big fish from the oceans.

According to walkers, river wardens and RSPCA officials, heavy treble-barbed hooks are attached to lines and cast out into the Nene using these sea rods and giant landing nets. The prize is not fish, but swans.

Out patrolling the river on Wednesday night, Jonathan Means, head bailiff for Peterborough and District Angling Club, points out where he caught one immigrant with a giant net trying to lure swans towards him with bread.

'The guy was hiding behind a tree,' says Mr Means. 'First, he threw bread into the pool so that the swans would come towards him. Then he tried to catch them in his net. I couldn't believe it. I started shouting and hollering at him and he ran away.'

malena stool wrote:What is it that our Political Masters are always expounding to us, 'the great unwashed plebs' that we are......

"We should be proud that we in the UK are a multicultural society and should accept and embrace these new cultures and traditions with open arms".

AnnaEsse wrote:

malena stool wrote:What is it that our Political Masters are always expounding to us, 'the great unwashed plebs' that we are......

"We should be proud that we in the UK are a multicultural society and should accept and embrace these new cultures and traditions with open arms".

And show them the way to the swans in our local parks, just to make sure they feel welcome! Oh yeh!

mara thon wrote:That is heartbreaking, I can't understand how anyone can be so callous and wicked. Unfortunately it isn't just eastern europeans that are cruel and wicked to animals, here there are many British people who just turn their dogs out to fend for themselves, some of those who have gone back to UK have left their dogs locked in their abandoned houses to starve to death, wicked people in my opinion.