Swans, celebrities and saving our Gold Coast
Not too many swans of the Gold Coast can say they've been visited by such iconic Hollywood celebrities as Priscilla Presley and everyone's favourite sexy, sinister System Lord from Stargate SG1 "Lord Ba'al" aka Cliff Simon but the swans of Lake Hugh Muntz in Mermaid Waters can indeed claim that fame. Now one of those swans is dead due to a savage and ILLEGAL off leash dog attack. To be more accurate, according to Rowley Goonan of Wild Bird Rescues Gold Coast, THREE of our precious birds have fallen victim to ILLEGAL off leash dog attacks recently.
In 2017, Priscilla Presley took time out from her "Elvis and me" tour to visit with her friend Lynn Santer and meet the swans on Lake Hugh Muntz. In 2019, Cliff Simon (in town for the Brisbane Supanova convention) did the same thing. Then this month a double tragedy struck.
Cliff Simon (pictured here with "Luke and Leah" the swans) who had just finished filming in Hollywood for Lynn's shocking expose on trophy hunting called "Land of the Free", which is being submitted to the Cannes Film Festival this week, was killed in a freak kiteboarding accident. Not two days later, Luke, the reigning king swan of Lake Hugh Muntz was brutally torn to shreds while his mate, Leah, and their three first born cygnets, were forced to watch in horror. Luke should have reigned over the lake for another 20 years.
Lynn and her friend Cathy Osborne are determined this will never happen again!
"Some may criticize our plans as anthropomorphising wildlife but we need to use the most effective tools in our tool box to make sure this never happens again. To send a warning to dog owners. To raise awareness about responsibility. Moreover, these swans have names and personalities and feelings, not to mention they have individual relationships with their human friends. The residents of Lake Hugh Muntz have been devastated by Luke's death and it must not be in vain," Lynn explained.
To that end, Cathy and Lynn are proposing that a statue be erected for Luke, not (just) to commemorate the fact that he valiantly gave up his life to save his family, but as a warning to other irresponsible and/or thoughtless dog owners that their actions have consequences... and not just for our precious wildlife but for their hip pockets in meaningful fines. Knowing they are likely to face critics, especially among the council, a petition has been started to assess public support for their concept - both in spirit and in cash pledges. These two determined women are looking for both voices of approval and pledges of cash support to pay for the statue so the council won't have the excuse of saying they don't have budget.
If you are moved by this story, please SHARE SHARE SHARE AND SHARE THIS CAMPAIGN SOME MORE and add your pledge by visiting this link: http://chng.it/CxVfkPGskj or you can contact Lynn via www.LandOfTheFreeMovie.com