Jet skiers pay vet bills for injured Romeo following incident on river Shannon
A JET ski community has paid the vet bills for a swan injured in a waterfcraft incident.
Ken O’Connell, of the Kilkee Jet Ski Club, said they were really shocked to hear what happened to a swan named Romeo.
Last month, the Leader told how lovebirds for 20 years had to be split up after a male swan was hit by a jet ski in O’Brien’s Bridge. They were called Romeo and Juliet by locals Jack and Statia Byrnes who kept a close eye on the swans and their annual broods of cygnets for years.
“He was hit by a jet ski and his right wing was broken in two places. One of the locals spotted it and he was horrified,” said Jack. Denis and Rose McCarthy, of Animal Magic in Kilmallock, were contacted and they took the swan into their expert care.
“They have all kinds of animals down there. They took the swan for us and called a vet who had to remove the wing,” said Jack.
Romeo will now live out his days in south Limerick instead of the Shannon in O’Brien’s Bridge. Jack says if he was returned to the wild and to Juliet he would die as he can’t fight anymore.
“The pine marten or the mink would get him,” said Jack.
Ken said the incident does not reflect the jet ski communities behaviour as a whole “whatsoever”.
“We would hope that whoever is responsible is made aware of their actions and prosecuted if they have broken the law. The donation made to Animal Magic we feel was well deserved to ensure the continued best care for the swan and help out a great cause for all the other animals there. We often make donations and fundraise for good causes,” said Ken, who donated €250 on behalf of the jet ski community to Rose McCarthy.
It will cover the vet bills and other expenses to date of €150 and the future costs of sutures.
Ken said there has been a very negative reaction online to the incident “which is of course expected for the individual concerned but old attitudes, and reputations that jet skis had from 30 years, is long outdated and needs to be left in the past”.
He said it is a bit like the reputation Limerick had that pops its head up every now and then.
“I feel there is a strong and vibrant water sports community that drive jet skis and these are also members of the local triathlon clubs, Coast Guard service, garda units – all positive and respectful people.
“We are a progressive and fully inclusive community of nearly 5,000 now nationally and have been lobbying for regulation and safe use for years. The leisure industry in Ireland has seen huge growth over the past coupe of years with the pandemic and will continue to grow so safe use in all these activities must be a priority going forward,” said Ken, who has had a business in Limerick city for years.