Stuart the swan recovering after being dragged by neck at Oceanside Village in Surfside Beach

SURFSIDE BEACH, S.C. (WBTW) — After receiving a call last Wednesday about a roughly 20-year-old swan being dragged by the neck in Oceanside Village, the executive director of the Myrtle Beach Wildlife Rescue Center took action.

Kimberly Cerimele said the neighborhood swan named Stuart is slowly recovering at the center suffering from head trauma, visual impairment and difficulty in swallowing. Last year, Stuart visited the center from lead poisoning.

She said that her team has particularly seen an increase in swan abuse in the area. Last year, her team responded to a swan in Ocean Lakes after it was purposefully run over by a golf cart twice, as well with another seriously injured swan in Surfside Beach needing leg surgery.

“We want people to be compassionate and co-exist with these animals because most of them don’t really want anything to do with people,” Cerimele said. “They just want to live their life like anyone else and they don’t deserve this.”

Due to there being no federal laws against those committing water fouler, harm against wild birds, people committing this form of animal cruelty are exempt from any charges. She said there’s not much else she can do other than try to help bring awareness and take donations to help the swan that are hurt.

“But unfortunately, because there are no laws that protect these swans, there’s not much that can be done,” she said. “People are just on the lookout and are just trying to protect them the best they can now that they’ve seen it happen.”

Oceanside Village supervisors say that the person accused of dragging Stuart was someone renting a home for the week and has since been removed by security.

Cerimele is unsure when Stuart will be released, but said that he will be brought back to his swan mate, Stella, at Oceanside.

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Gabby Jonas joined the News13 team as a multimedia journalist in April 2024. She is from Columbus, Ohio, and graduated from Kent State University in May 2023. Follow Gabby on X, formerly Twitter , Facebook or Instagram , and read more of her work here .

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