Swans Eaten by Immigrants

http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/news/article855857.ece

The Sun [UK]
28 February 2008

Who ate all the swans?

By VERONICA LORRAINE

PILES of swan carcasses stripped for food have been found at a squalid camp used by East European immigrants.

The Sun called in police and the RSPCA yesterday after locals revealed how the royal birds are being illegally slaughtered and their pitiful remains discarded. [...]

[The Daily Mail, as expected, repeats the story, cribbed from The Sun.]

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/pages/live/articles/news/news.html?in_article_id=521710&in_page_id=1770

Daily Mail [UK]
28 February 2008

Swan bake: carcasses and piles of feathers found next to cooking pots at migrants' camp

[Some earlier articles about swan-eating immigrants:]

The Sun [UK]
4 July 2003

Asylum gang had two swans for roasting

By MIKE SULLIVAN
Crime Editor

CALLOUS asylum seekers are barbecuing the Queen's swans, The Sun can reveal.

East European poachers lure the protected Royal birds into baited traps, an official Metropolitan Police report says.

The swans, plundered from rivers and parks around London and Southern England, are then cooked and eaten.

Hundreds of the graceful creatures have been killed. A police spokeswoman confirmed last night: "We are appealing for information over the disappearance of swans." [...]

http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk_news/story/0,3604,991267,00.html

The Guardian [UK]
4 July 2003

Missing swans may have been stolen for food, say police

Mark Oliver

At least 100 swans have gone missing and a "strong line of inquiry" is that they have been stolen for food, Scotland Yard confirmed last night.

The majority of the missing swans have disappeared from the River Lea and other areas in east London and police have increased the number of patrols in the area. [...]

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/this-britain/police-baffled-by-stories-of-asylumseekers-barbecuing-the-queens-fowl-585846.html

http://news.independent.co.uk/uk/this_britain/story.jsp?story=421848

The Independent [UK]
5 July 2003

Police baffled by stories of asylum-seekers barbecuing the Queen's fowl

By Terri Judd

Aslyum-seekers have been accused of all manner of ills in society, from making false claims for sanctuary to begging aggressively and forming organised gangs. Yesterday two tabloid newspapers claimed that they had been trapping swans for barbecues.

But appearances can be deceptive. The reports stated that a "major investigation" had been launched after an "official Metropolitan Police report" blamed "Eastern European gangs".

The situation had become so dire that Enfield police were being forced to patrolling the river Lee to safeguard the Queen's fowl.

But yesterday Scotland Yard stated: "There is no police report." While there is concern fuelled by a drop in the swan population, the police spokeswoman added: "There appears to be a perception that this may be attributable to Eastern Europeans. We stress we have no evidence of this." [...]

http://www.thesun.co.uk/article/0,,2-2003363245,00.html

The Sun [UK]
8 Aug 2003

Poachers snatch swan

A GANG of poachers were today spotted dragging a swan from a river by its neck.

The men, described by police as being of Arabic or Mediterranean appearance, are thought to have thieved the bird to eat as a delicacy. [...]

http://media.guardian.co.uk/mediaguardian/story/0,7558,1096634,00.html

The Guardian [UK]
1 Dec 2003

Dead meat?

Stories of asylum seekers stealing donkeys - and swans - to eat have turned out to be false. So why have the newspapers not apologised, asks Roy Greenslade

http://portal.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2004/07/15/nmed15.xml&sSheet=/news/2004/07/15/ixhome.html

Daily Telegraph [UK]
15 July 2004

How I took on The Sun - and lost

Nick Medic complained to the PCC over an article about asylum seekers roasting swans. He tells his story

Limerick Post [Ireland]
8 June 2006

Incredulous Polish deny eating our swans

by Lorraine Carey

A CURIOUS rumour is going around Limerick that our Polish community is eating our swans.

Swan feeding is a familiar custom in Limerick but anyone Polish throwing bread to the birds is now being eyed with suspicion as a rumour circulates that swan is a Polish delicacy. [...]

Limerick Post [Ireland]
18 June 2006

Poles react to swan story

LAST week's Post article which explored the incredible rumour that the local Polish were eating our swan, has sparked a lively reaction. [...]

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/wales/north_west/6174344.stm

BBC News
22 Nov 2006

Hungry man who killed swan jailed

A man who claimed he killed a swan because he was hungry on the second day of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan has been jailed for two months.

However, Shamshu Miah, 52, from Llandudno was released because of the time he has already spent in custody. [...]

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/pages/live/articles/news/news.html?in_article_id=473578&in_page_id=1770

The Daily Mail [London, UK]
7 Aug 2007

Sorry, poached swan's off: Calls for clampdown on river bandits from eastern Europe

By MATTHEW HICKLEY

There are few sights so serene as a swan sailing majestically along the Grand Union Canal.

Except, that is, when it is being chased by a gang of hungry, knife-wielding Eastern Europeans.

Polish and Lithuanian immigrants have been seen trying to drag the 20lb birds away, while the remains of some have been found butchered on the towpath near Leighton Buzzard in Bedfordshire. Hundreds are believed to have disappeared from the area. [...]

[And just for fun:]

Weekly World News
2 Oct 2006

INTERNATIONAL HOUSE OF SWANS ANGERS ANIMAL ACTIVISTS!

By Mark Miller

TUFTONBORO, N.H. -- Knowing that the failure of new restaurants is extremely high, Ross Hyde decided to stand out. He opened the International House of Swans.

"Most people don't know that swan is sort of a cross between chicken and duck," said Hyde. "They're high-protein and low-fat, with a delicious taste." [...]

http://www.thisisthewestcountry.co.uk/news/4991885.The_mysterious_case_of_Bridgwater_s_missing_swans/

This is The West Country [UK]
5 February 2010

The mysterious case of Bridgwater's missing swans

By David Hemming

A FAMILY of popular swans have mysteriously vanished from Bridgwater's docklands area with rumours circulating they have been killed and eaten. [...]