State Sen. Tony Avella and animal rights advocates are calling for a moratorium on the state Department of Environmental Conservation’s plan to eradicate all 2,200 wild mute swans in the state by 2025 and declare them a “prohibited invasive species.” Photo courtesy Friends of Animals
The state Department of Environmental Conservation’s plan to kill all 2,200 wild mute swans in New York by 2025 – including potentially shooting, gassing, or decapitating them – is drawing vehement criticism from state Sen. Tony Avella (D-Bayside) and animal rights advocates, and the Queens lawmaker has introduced a bill to prevent the eradication of these white water birds.
“I was horrified to learn that our state wildlife agency would make such an extreme, unfounded proposal and do not believe that the DEC has provided evidence to justify the elimination of these beautiful swans,” Avella said.
The lawmaker’s bill, filed Feb. 10, would require the DEC to demonstrate that actual damage to the enivironment or other c=species have been caused by the mute swan population across the state. The DEC’s proposal to kill the swan population came after state officials argued that the large birds are “potential hazards to aviation” and have displayed “aggressive behavior towards people.”
The public has until tomorrow, Friday, Feb. 21, to give input on the plan.
“The public outcry has been severe,” Avella said. “Many New Yorkers do not want to see mute swans eliminated and animal advocacy organizations, wildlife experts, rehabilitators and others have also joined the chorus of opposition.”
Among those who have joined Avella in his criticism is the Friends of Animals, an animal rights organization that has been protesting the DEC’s proposal since it was announced in December.
“Our New York office has been swamped with phone calls and emails from frantic New York residents horrified that mute swans may be wiped out completely,” said Friends of Animals’ NY Director Edita Birnkrant.
Birnkrant went on to say that her organization is asking Gov. Andrew Cuomo to issue a state proclamation recognizing March 10-16 as Swan Appreciation Week.
“DEC’s hateful attitudes towards mute swans must be reversed – they are out of step with the very residents of New York whose tax dollars fund the agency,” she said.
Numerous animal rights advocates, including those at Friends of Animals, have pointed out that the mute swans compose about half of 1 percent of the state’s more than 400,000 waterfowl – thereby creating only a minor impact on the state’s ecosystem.
“My professional opinion is that these public disputes about mute swans are overblown and unnecessary,” said Donald S. Heintzelman, an ornithologist and expert on Northern migratory swans. “These birds do not cause catastrophic damage, although most state wildlife agencies have engrained in their official mindsets the notion that mute swans should be destroyed merely because they are non-native species that might compete with native tundra swans and more rarely trumpeter swans.”
“Furthermore, arguments that mute swans are aggressive, and also consume large amounts of submerged aquatic vegetation are greatly overblown – and represent bad science,” Heintzelman continued.
By Anna Gustafson
