CONCERN for children’s safety along Collier’s Lane in Portlaoise is mounting after a swan was “mowed down” by a motorist and left for dead in the cycle lane.
Local resident Howard Kirk said that there is “anger and disgust at the motorist who mowed down a swan and left it to die on Collier’s Lane on Sunday.
“The Swan, from the Kilminchy lakes, was struck in the cycle lane of Collier’s Lane in broad daylight by the reckless motorist and left to die just metres away from the lakes.”
Mr Kirk, who has looked after the wildlife on Kilminchy lakes for the past five years, said he was “totally disgusted by the killing of one of our swans.
The fact that he was struck in the cycle lane should be a stark warning to all those parents that I see on a regular basis using the cycle lane with their children.
“The swans and ducks are a protected species. It is a criminal offence to harm them, let alone mow them down and leave them dying on the side of the road.” Mr Kirk has called on Laois Co Council to erect signs on the roads around the Kilminchy area to warn motorists that swans and ducks may be close to the roads.
He said: “I don’t know how many times we have to ask for these. Anywhere else where there is a lake, the local council erect signs to warn motorists. Laois Co Council might like to use some of their household tax and do something good with it.”
In the past number of years, Mr Kirk has been a relentless campaigner for the protection of the swan and duck population at Kilminchy Lakes.
In 2007, he highlighted the effect a major oil spill into the lakes caused to the wildfowl on it.
In 2008, he ran a sustained campaign to prevent oil, fat and grease from entering the lakes after seven signets and 32 mallard ducks were wiped out because of pollution.
Senior engineer over roads and the environment with Laois Co Council, John O’Donoghue, said he was unaware of any communications from Mr Kirk about warning signs for the area.