A SWAN was shot dead and another severely injured after a “shocking” gun attack.

Rescuers are still trying to catch the injured female swan which fled its home after being shot by a pellet gun in an attack which also saw its breeding partner killed.

Wychbold Swan Rescue (WSR) was called to a lake on privately-owned land near Stourport on Tuesday (January 9) morning, following reports of the incident.

Jan Harrigan, of WSR, said she arrived at around 10.30am with colleague John Stewart to find the male swan had been shot through the head.

“You could actually see the pellet sticking out of the one hole,” said Mrs Harrigan, who lives in Wychbold. “We couldn’t do a lot for him.

Mr Stewart described the attack as “shocking” and said Hereford and Worcester Fire and Rescue Service was drafted in to help try retrieve the female swan first from the lake, then the River Severn.

“Unfortunately, we had no joy, so know we’ve got another injured swan out there and don’t know if it will come back,” he said.

Mrs Harrigan who has built a swan hospital unit at her home, estimating she treats around 600 injured swans a year, said the female was “very reluctant to be caught”.

“She kept taking off and it was quite a difficult place to get to her. She’s still on the river in Stourport,” she said.

“We’ve had to make a plan to catch her. The RSPCA have been informed as well.

“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.”

Mrs Harrigan, who estimated she deals with one or two swan shootings a year, said: “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.”

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.