BIRD life has been devastated in a Sydney park where Lord Mayor Clover Moore has allowed dogs to roam without leashes, it was claimed yesterday.
The latest victim in Sydney Park at St Peters is a female black swan, mauled so badly by a dog the RSPCA immediately put the bird down.
The swan was attacked in front of its two cygnets, now in RSPCA care, and its mate, which has been left "forlorn and alone" in the park's wetland area, The Daily Telegraph reports.
A dog killed another black swan earlier this year, an RSPCA spokesman said yesterday.
Dog-loving Ms Moore announced in April last year that canines would be allowed off their leashes in 30 parks throughout Sydney.
Her decision, opposed by then deputy Sydney Lord Mayor Tony Pooley, who predicted problems at Sydney Park, sparked an ugly war between dog lovers and those who feared the leash-free parks would be too dangerous for other people and particularly young children.
Threats were made to put dog food laced with crushed glass in some parks amid claims the leash-free advocates believed dogs had equal rights to children.
Dogs are meant to be put back on their leashes near the wetlands area in Sydney Park, which was home to the swan family and other native birds. Yesterday, Sydney Park regular Rena Svans said that owners regularly let their dogs harass the wetland's resident birdlife.
"Since the park went leashless the number of birds in the park has plunged," Ms Svans, from Alexandria, said.
"The ducks have stopped breeding, parrot numbers are down, magpie numbers are down. Just a day ago I watched as a dog ripped apart a moorhen's nest while its owner just watched. They even throw sticks and balls into the water for their dogs to fetch despite all the warning signs."
Ms Svans said she was devastated by the death of the female black swan last Friday.
"It was beautiful to watch them finally breed successfully after they had failed before and the male had finally started to trust people," she said. "Now he's rarely there and he looks so sad and lost."
RSPCA Inspector Slade Macklin and a colleague were forced to swim through the wetland's weeds to rescue the swan after the attack.
"Her wing had a compound fracture, the bone was exposed and we had to euthanise her immediately," Mr Macklin said. "I understand a member of the public jumped into the water to try to help the swan and was also bitten."
The dog, described only as white and medium sized, is being sought.
