There have been several incidents where youths with dogs have been observed flushing and killing mother and baby ducks.  One incident occured by the Floaters Mill Pub, the youths worked the bank with their dogs, flushed a mother duck and her seven ducklings out of the bankside vegetation and then cornered her.  The dogs were then encouraged by the boys to tear the duck apart alive.  They then tried to get the ducklings but they had scattered and were later in the day seen drifting off plaintively calling for mum into oblivion downstrean, where no doubt they died of starvation, hypothermia or exhaustion.  Three days after this event the police called at on witnesses home to inform them that there was no law covering this and nothing could be done.  This witness asked that P.C. Gore, the Wildlife Crime Officer,  be asked to call to discuss this matter.  Seven weeks later nothing has been heard.

As a follow up some calls were received from residents of Sydney Street and users of the footpath by the burn.  These calls were about youths and their dogs attacking the swans and cygnets on the burn. 

The cygnets and their parents eventually turned up at the bottom of Callington Close, with two cygnets missing.  One of the cygnets at Callington was in distress and after several days the family dissapeared.