To have told these tourists to leave the swans and ducks along

[Want2727]

Prob going to be accused of being racist but here goes
Am currently on holiday in the Lake District in Bowness. As anyone who has been to Bowness knows it attracts lots of Japanese tourists which is obviously great for the area.

Was sat down on a bench feeding the ducks and swans with my sun and about 20 Japanese people walked up and started to try and grab at the ducks and swans to get a picture with them. The last straw was when a swan wandered up with 5 cygnets and one Japanese women grabs a cygnet, and picks it up for a photo. The swan started to give chase and she leaps up on a wall where the swan can’t get to her
I marched up and said in a stern voice “put that cygnet down” the poor cygnet by this time was in a right state.

She looks at me and was going to ignore me till me husband came up behind me and said to her again “put the cygnet down”. She then did. A couple of people watching clap
Her husband/partner came up to us and started shouting at us in Japanese. I just looked at him and said “the swans and ducks are to be looked at not touched it is cruel”
They all then storm off in their group towards the boats.

As we walked past the boat office 5 minutes later they are pointing at us and gesturing at us to one of the boat ticket staff. He comes over and we told him what happened and he said “it’s always happening, a duck was left lame when when a Japanese lady picked one up and then basically chucked it down once a photo has been taken.
I just want to say I know Britain people can also be dicks when it comes to animals but surley something needs to be done to let the toursts know it’s not acceptable to pick up the ducks/ swans/ geese if it keeps happening.

@CaptainMyCaptain my friend went up to one of the swans there, and it bit her!

OP, you are no BU at all. Poor swans :( Though, they can defend if necessary. Recently one killed a spaniel which was swimming near it. 2 or 3 hits and it was gone :(

They’re very lucky the swan didn’t break their bloody arm. Especially a protective mummy and daddy.

On another note. I bet the baby 🦢 were delicious, though.

YANBU it doesn’t matter what nationality they were in this country gratuitous cruelty to animals is against the law and people need to respect wildlife.

YABVU visiting Bowness, their are so many far nicer places in the Lake District🤭. However I do recommend visiting Blackwell, the superb Arts and Crafts house to the South of the town.

Nothing remotely racist about what you did.
Well done. I'd have done the same.

If it happens again tell them that all swans belong to the Queen and it is treason to injure them. Treason used to carry the death penalty. Both of these bits of legislation changed in 1998, so you can no longer scare your Japanese tourist with the folkloric threat that the Queen would shout "off with her head!"

They are still protected under wildlife and countryside legislation, so it is still an offence to kill, injure or take a protected species, which includes most wild birds. I think 'take' is an important word there. She took the cygnet from its mother. She clearly committed an offence and, as it is a regular problem, a sign in English and Japanese warning of this would be a good idea. Try contacting the local parish council to suggest it.

I'm attempting to stop anyone I see harassing wildlife/animals/pets, sex, size or nationality notwithstanding.

I saw a British boy throwing stones at ducks on our beach and his British mum couldn't give a shit until myself, my mum and the pub landlord all gave him a piece of our minds. She wasn't happy with us.
Lots of British people all think gulls are flying rats, and shoot and poison them. Lots of British visitors to the coast harass seals and allow their dogs to attack them.
I think disrespect to animals is a common feature of many cultures.

It’s not only animal babies the Japanese as a government have contempt for. It wasn’t until 2014 that possessing child porn became illegal there. (And it is still legal to produce comics that depict child porn...)

YANBU but should you have been feeding the ducks and swans? Don't know if they provide feed for visitors where you were but at my local pond there are big signs saying, do not feed the ducks, it harms them and attracts rats, yet people sit bang in front of the notices and chuck out lumps of nasty processed white bread. I often want to challenge people but don't dare...

Every day I see people of all nationalities, but mostly British, going right up to the deer in the Royal Parks and feeding them by hand in spite of signs, every few feet in some places, saying not to get within 50m of them. A hipster hat designer from Shoreditch was gored by a deer in Richmond Park, and then said they should be fenced off, she is the one that should be fenced off and a child was airlifted to hospital from Bushy Park after she was injured whilst feeding the deer, encouraged by her parents. I don't think there is a culture amongst hipsters of not respecting animals - what all these incidents have in common is that they are seeking photo opportunities fuelled by social media. Look at the hashtag richmondparkdeer on Instagram and there are always loads of photos of idiots candidates for a Darwin award feeding the deer. I never knowingly get closer that 50m to the deer because all regular users of the Park are only too well aware of how unpredictable and dangerous they can be.

Yanbu. Unbelievable that they don't know this is not normal behaviour wherever they're from.

I really don't understand this whole selfie with every little thing trend that is going on… And swans can be really vicious, why would he want to touch them? Or try and pick up one of their babies? That's asking for trouble. I'm glad you stood up to them. Yes, tourism is good, but I have lived in very touristy places, and Just because you're on holiday, it doesn't give you the greenlight to do whatever you want. And that goes for English people abroad as well, respect other people, and their cultures, and their environment.

I have a disability, and I have actually had tourists take pictures of me… Without asking, nothing. I'm not a tourist attraction… I don't mind if you ask me, but don't just take a picture.

They need to put more signs up, also the council/park/wardens could give info out to the tourist information office, hotels, guides. a simple sign with a cross through it would help if they haven't already got those. I hate seeing animals being treated like toys and for amusement, regardless of what country people are from or what their traditions are its cruel and unecessary and they are lucky they didn't get their arms broken by the adult swans.

I've similar in Windermere with Chinese tourists - a middle aged women went mad at a swan as is it resented being grabbed around the neck for a selfie.

There is a lovely large lake in the town I grew up in that attracts a lot of tourists and has a large population of swans. Because of being fed, approached etc by tourists they have over generations become incredibly brazen and, often homicidal. They do not fuck around. If you’re stupid enough to approach them or tease them with food or attempt to get near their young they will attack you.

Locals know to keep their distance. I recently witnessed a tourist (From another state) encourage a swan over with food and then tell their son to put their arms around its neck to hug it for a photo. Four seperate groups of people ran over screaming to stop the kid being massacred. Dad’s only response was to huff that we had ruined his lovely photo.

People are dicks and should be attacked by swans more often until they stop being stupid

You REALLY don't want to piss off an adult swan

That was my thought, I think I would let the mother swan deal with the Japanese, they'd not do it a second time.

Well bloody done!

I saw tourists in Bowness trying to pose with the ducks and swans as well, I didn't register their nationality but wrote them off as weirdos.
I has no idea swans were so tough, though, every day's a school day!

Well done you for speaking up and doing something about it!

twats are twats whatever ethnic group they belong to. good for you op.
i'd have done the same and don't care about my own safety when it comes to helping animals and the vulnerable, dh says it's a wonder i'm still stab free or even alive because i'm such an angry person. [not proud of it]

It prob would have been quicker & more effective to tell them how vicious enraged swans can get. They really shouldn't treat wildlife like that tho. Very poor, can you alert the staff as otherwise they're going to have stressed birds & possibly dead chicks (the stress alone of being grabbed & separated from its mother could kill a chick)

Off topic but just curious, how do you know they are Japanese and not Chinese or Koreans or Singaporeans ?

I think waterfowl have it tough in general with lots of the public, this happened recently, www.thenorthernecho.co.uk/news/17683793.woman-straddles-swan-and-wrings-its-neck-in-chester-le-streets-riverside-park/ She must be a lovely individual.

Well done you. It is unfortunately a fact that many people don't have respect/care for nature, and it isn't just one nation either.

In Italy, on a beach by our hotel, three rocks are a little way out, but not far. Cormorants come a sit and relax, and fish by the rocks, and we love seeing them there every day. An Italian dad takes his small child down to the water's edge and start flinging stones at these poor birds. I hoist myself off my sun bed and go down to him, and tell him off for doing it, and for setting a bad example, and why the hell would he even think of doing it in the first (in Italian, fortunately I can speak it). He shrugged and leaves. But really, there are a lot of dicks about.

I once saw a tourist trying to pour Red Bull down the throat of a deer in Richmond Park. I was about to tell him to stop but a gang of angry Brits got there first. he was so confused. He thought it was hilarious. He seemed to have no idea that it was cruel.