Briefly: 7 swans beaten to death

MITO--Seven swans were found dead Monday after being beaten and left lying and bleeding along the shore of Lake Senbako here.

A woman called police at 5:30 a.m. after finding some of the dead swans.

Police found five black swans and two white ones with fatal wounds to their heads and necks along a 1.5-kilometer stretch of the lake's north shore.

Since March, in four similar cases, 12 wild birds had been killed at the same lake, city officials said. Some people have reported seeing a person wielding a stick to attack birds in the area, the officials said. (IHT/Asahi: April 29,2008)