While ice skaters in Sochi were dancing to Swan Lake, bureaucrats in Albany were planning to rid the state of its mute swans. We’re not kidding.
According to the Nassau County Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, the state Department of Environmental Conservation proposed in a “swan management plan” in January that the non-native mute swans be listed as a “prohibited species” in New York State.
The DEC claims that these majestic animals have a “harmful impact” on native plant life and water quality. The SPCA counters that the DEC study titled “Status and Ecology of Mute Swans in New York State” is based on “short-term, half completed impact studies.”
Why on earth was this study necessary? According to current estimates there are only 2,200 mute swans in the entire state, down from 2,800 in 2002. How much damage could they do?
The state Bureau of Wildlife, a division of the DEC whose mission is to “manage many of the now common species such as deer, bear, turkey and Canada goose to provide recreational opportunities, ecological and economic values, and enjoyment to the people of the state while ensuring that their existence is never again threatened in New York State,” added to the nonsense by claiming that the swans are aggressive toward human beings.
Do you know anyone on Long Island who has been attacked by a mute swan?
Did the folks at Wildlife not see that the war on the mute swan runs counter to its reason for existence?
The DEC claims its methods for eradicating the birds will be “safe, humane, responsible, and effective.” They will include “destroying swan eggs and nests, sterilizing birds, and shooting or catching birds to be euthanized.”
We join the Nassau County SPCA in urging the DEC to take their finger off the trigger and allow the residents of Long Island and throughout the state to continue to enjoy these beautiful birds.
