The Cam Conservancy, the group responsible for the maintenance of the River Cam, has lodged a request to have Cambridge’s most notorious swan moved.

The swan, known as both ‘Mr. Asbo’ and ‘Stalin’ is famed for attacking rowers, canoeists and even motorboats on the river. The Cam Conservancy deputy manager, Jonathon Wakefield, has said that the swan poses as a very real threat ."There is a concern that one day a rower could capsize and it might even cause a fatality".

This aggression has been attributed to anxiety on the bird’s part and, following its treatment by the RSPCA after a dog attacked it last year, it is thought that the bird itself would greatly benefit from a more secluded area. Swans are the technical property of the Queen, however, when she declines ownership, the right to decide an individual bird’s future becomes the duty of ’Natural England’.

A spokeswoman for Natural England said: "If there is no reasonable alternative, we are prepared to sanction the relocation of the swan to another suitable site."

Mr Asbo hit headlines over two years ago when he began harrassing rowers.

Support Varsity

Varsity is the independent newspaper for the University of Cambridge, established in its current form in 1947. In order to maintain our editorial independence, our print newspaper and news website receives no funding from the University of Cambridge or its constituent Colleges.

We are therefore almost entirely reliant on advertising for funding and we expect to have a tough few months and years ahead.

In spite of this situation, we are going to look at inventive ways to look at serving our readership with digital content and of course in print too!

Therefore we are asking our readers, if they wish, to make a donation from as little as £1, to help with our running costs. Many thanks, we hope you can help!