Mute swan  (Cygnus olor)

Harsh winters and poisoning from lead fishing weights were responsible for the decline of the mute swan population in Britain. A series of mild winters combined with the banning of lead weights has resulted in the recovery of the numbers of this beautiful bird (5).

Strong lobbying to ban lead fishing weights has enabled mute swans to recover from the crash in numbers caused by lead poisoning. They will also have benefited from action carried out for other species of wildfowl, such as the creation and management of wetland nature reserves (8).