Renewed calls for action to protect Ballarat wildlife after Lake Wendouree swan beheading

Two swans have been beheaded and one possum had its tail cut off as rescuers call for urgent action to protect wildlife in Ballarat. Warning: Graphic images.

Nine of Lake Wendouree’s swans have died or been euthanised in 2022 as a result of car accidents, dog attacks, or other incidents.

At least nine swans have been euthanised or killed in just five months in Ballarat, the most recent incident being a case of decapitation.

Of the many dozens of calls rescuers have received this year, 19 were injured swans near Lake Wendouree.

Most have been as a result of car strikes, dog attacks or entanglement in fishing line.

Rescuers were called to help six swans at the lake in the last week alone with one bird found decapitated — believed to have been severed by a sharp knife.

Volunteer Heather Lewis said it was disturbing.

“This one in particular, it was in an area of the lake which is fairly open, and where it was found it was fairly close to the footpath,” she said.

Another Ballarat wildlife rescuer and carer, Jen Greenhalgh, said a vet assessment confirmed the swan’s head had been severed with a sharp knife, but it had also been attacked by a dog – either before or after the decapitation.

A decapitated swan was found at Lake Wendouree on Sunday, May 8.

A black swan at Lake Wendouree.

She was also aware of an ibis being decapitated at the lake this year, along with a brushtail possum being found with its tail cut off at the base.

“Why are people walking around with big, sharp knives? It’s happening all the time around there,” she said.

Wildlife rescuers and carers have advocated for the council and government to implement measures to better protect wildlife around the lake for several years.

Suggestions have included reducing grass cutting to deter swans from waddling across the road in search of longer grass, and reducing the speed limit to 40km/h.

Other suggestions have included speed humps being built to slow drivers down and CCTV cameras being installed at places where animals are frequently struck.

Western Victorian MP Andy Meddick has long advocated for changes to be implemented at the lake to better protect wildlife.

He said his position “hadn’t changed” but the continued incidents gave “more weight to [his] argument for greater protections for the iconic swans, and all wildlife, around the lake”.

Referring to the contentious issue of lighting up the lake, he stated he believed there could be an “innovative solution” settled upon to benefit the safety of both humans and animals.

Conservation Regulator Grampians manager regulatory operations, Brian Hamer, said it was investigating the death of the decapitated swan and took “all matters of wildlife cruelty seriously”.

He said the regulator was awaiting further information from a veterinarian to “better understand if the death was caused by a predator or the result of human actions”.

Killing, harassing or disturbing wildlife can attract a penalty of up to $8000.

Victorian wildlife are protected under the Wildlife Act.