THREE swans in a north Belfast park have been decapitated over three successive weekends. A bloodstained knife, used to butcher the birds, was found by a groundsman in the Waterworks on the Antrim Road.
The park, which is owned by the city council, is frequented by gangs of youths at night. A park ranger, Mr Robert Harbinson, said. "There is a lot of glue sniffing and heavy drinking here at the weekend. We lock the gates every night at 5 p.m. but they are just so easy to climb over. It's impossible to keep these gangs out."
Cllr Jim Rodgers, chairman of the council's park's sub committee, said that anyone with information should approach the RUC.
"We are very angry and distressed by the cruel deaths of these beautiful creatures," he said. "Last year over 20 swans at the Waterworks died from disease.
"But these recent deaths are even worse because they were a result of deliberate cruelty. It's absolutely sickening. There must be something mentally wrong with people who do things like this."
Ms Alison Donnelly, a conservation officer with the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds, said "We are very distressed that this type of thing is happening. The people of north Belfast get a lot of enjoyment from these swans.