FIRST, I would like to say that I am sorry a swan and her cygnet have lost their lives through an unfortunate incident blamed on a careless angler.

The report in the Herald makes it look like an angler was aware of the predicament and did not care. You may be right. Such people do exist.

But before jumping to conclusions, several factors should first be considered.

I am an angler and would like to point out to your readers who do not themselves fish, that the vast majority of anglers are responsible people who respect the flora and fauna of our lakes, rivers and the surrounding countryside, and would in no way intentionally cause injury or death to a swan or any other animal.

I therefore consider it very unfair that the Herald has tarred all anglers with the same brush over one unproven incident. A picture does not always tell the full story. I would also add that any angler found to be neglectful of the national and local bylaws while fishing stands a very good chance of losing the right to hold a fishing licence.

Possible cause of the death of the adult swan might be one of the following:

First of all, swans are naturally curious and this one may have found a broken line and lure on the bottom in shallow waters.

Perhaps the angler lost the lure due to his/her line breaking, leaving the lure with a length of line either adrift or tangled in the underwater tree roots or weeds. The swan may have arrived long afterwards and swimming across the line, caught its legs in the line, inadvertently pulling the lure towards it as the line slipped over its legs. The swan naturally would use its beak to try and rid itself of the lure and only succeed in hooking itself.

Swans are wild creatures and can land on a lake or river in a matter of seconds, leaving anglers little time to clear their lines from the 'landing area' should the lines be thought to present a problem. Perhaps the swan landed on the water close to the line and, unknown to the angler, may have swum over the line, picking it up with its legs as in the previous scenario. The angler may have noticed a pull on his/her line and tried to wind in the line, only to have it snap, assuming that the swan broke the line, but did not notice that the line had snared the swan.

If that person had been a young, inexperienced angler on a limited budget, he or she may have lost the only lure they had and just went home.

On two separate occasions, I have snared two seagulls which landed close to and swam over my line. Both were gently retrieved and, after examination, were released, unharmed.

The lure may have previously snagged in some bank-side vegetation roots and had lain there for some days, even weeks before the foraging swan decided to eat it. If the swan made a sudden rush for the fish, or pulled against it, that would also account for the fact that the lure was caught fast in her beak.

I'm sure other anglers could give you many more reasons for the bird's demise. But it has to be said in defence of the thousands of caring anglers, 'We are not uncaring murderers!' This was an accident and should be considered as such by the 'hot heads' too ready to apportion blame.

Points of interest: There are more anglers in the UK than football supporters, and look at the trouble that arises over football, 'the beautiful game'!

J Simpson, Wilnecote.

Ps: The Herald is a great paper and valued by the community. May it continue to be so for many years.