A MAN who found two dead moorhens in a stretch of canal in Gwent is calling for the waterway's wildlife to be better protected.

Michael West, who lives in Pontymister, says he found the moorhens floating in the Rogerstone stretch of the Brecon and Monmouthshire canal last week while he was out walking with a friend.

He said he had seen the moorhens alive the previous day, while out walking with his children.

"Fortunately the children weren't with me on the day that I found them dead," he said.

Mr West told the Argus that because there have been previous occasions when wildlife, such as squirrels and pigeons, had been shot with airguns in the area, he had his suspicions about the moorhens' death. So he returned to his home to fetch a net.

"I got the birds out of the water, washed them down and saw the bulletholes. They had been shot through their necks and the bullets came out behind the wing," he said.

Mr West says that there have been several instances of wildlife being shot near the canal in the past. "Some people seem to think that because they have a gun they are Rambo," he claimed.

He added that he would now like Caerphilly council to employ a special warden to police the canal, to try to stop further shootings.

And he said that even if the wardens did not have the power to arrest, they should have the right to confiscate any guns.