Worcester City Council supports the feeding of swans as there is not much natural food for them in the Severn. Your help with feeding the swans is therefore much appreciated.
In feeding the swans, their welfare is our first consideration. We are not trying to turn them into domestic pets, but to keep them well enough to forage for their own food and live their own wild lives. It is, indeed, illegal to interfere with swans unless they are sick, injured or in immediate danger (Wildlife & Countryside Act 1981), and rescue centres are not allowed to release swans that have been made too tame to survive in the wild.
The hungriest times for swans are:
- In winter
- April to May – before laying eggs and after hatching, as females do not eat much while sitting
- Between June and August when they are moulting and cannot fly
- Any time when natural food is scarce.
