Sign the petition to #SaveBraySwans here;
https://www.change.org/p/wicklow-county-council-save-bray-swans
Bray is famous for its Swan Sanctuary. On any given day there can be around 100 swans living their best lives in Bray Harbour. They add to the famous character of Bray Harbour. Where other Harbours have been developed beyond all recognition, people come from all over to visit the Harbour, the local pubs and clubs and especially the Swan Sanctuary.
Some of these swans are poorly or have been rehabilitated by Wildlife Rescue Groups around Ireland. We spoke to many people about how visiting Bray’s Swans is so important to their mental health.
Many years ago, the Bray Town Council voted to place warning signs on the overhead wires of the train bridge. This is because the swans would hit the wires and fall onto the tracks causing distress and delays. The Councillors knew that swans flew down along the river to land in the harbour, and would hit the wires.
The proposed bridge design will be lethal to the swans. Currently in Dublin, the Samuel Beckett Bridge is a constant source of dead and bloody swans falling from the sky. Remember that there are far, far fewer swans on that part of the River Liffey than in Bray. https://extra.ie/2021/12/30/news/irish-news/swans-samuel-beckett-bridge
Councillors won’t be called to remove bloody dying swans from the harbour, the train tracks or the proposed bridge. If they were, we can be sure they’d vote to stop this bridge. You can get in touch with your Councillors (please do!) and tell them this is an important topic for you and that you intend to vote based on their commitment to Save Bray! Their contact details are here; http://savebray.ie/?page_id=18
The local residents will be the most effected. They predict gridlock, dangerous corners for buses, cyclists and pedestrians, and they have genuine concerns about the safety of their kids, as well as the young and old travelling through Bray down to the seafront. You can read more about the residents concerns here; http://savebray.ie/?page_id=9
In the developer’s Enviornmental Impact Assessment, they noted 0 (zero) swans in Bray Harbour. How could that be? How could a team of professionals perform a site visit and find zero swans in Bray? There’s even big signs describing the Swan Sanctuary.
Below are some photos from a Photoshoot We Help Wildlife did to highlight just how loved the Bray Swans are with Ireland’s Prima Ballerina Monica Loughman and her students.
