Mute Swan population to be killed!!!! Has anyone else heard this?

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Would you care as much if these weren't swans? The Europian Starling and Common Rock Pigeon are also invasive species that wipe out our native wildlife and crops. There are large efforts to trap and kill these birds in order to reduce their numbers. I don't see a protesting site for them. Perhaps because they aren't beautiful swans.
 
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I, personally care very much for any animal that is inhumanely killed off due to our (humans) mistakes. I have pigeons for pets and to me they are as beautiful as swans.
 
It sounds like that have become invasive and maybe the population needs to be thinned. I think there are alternative, humane ways to do that. How much of this account is accurate is in question though.
 
A.T. Hagan just posted some very good links. READ THEM. Especially the National Geographic link. There are too many mute swans, and they are reproducing way too fast. They have no natural predators, they are ruining the ecosystem. One way or the other, something needs to be done, whether they are shot, captured and euthanized (which is actually more traumatic than just shooting them).
 
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For the record - I don't like swan being killed, esp inhumanely!

I would like to know where the facts came from? "make 1200 to 1500 a pair" & "puppy mill like environments"

Also blaming the breeders- but then wanting them located in private ownership seems contradictory to me.
 
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I agree, before we all jump on the 'SAVE THE SWANS' band wagon, lets all get the facts not just random rumors, or over inflated truths such as the $1200-$1500 a pair sells form swan mills. First mute swans are $400- $500 and are in no way bred in mills, would take thousands of them seeing how they only produce 2-5 eggs on average.

Now for what's actually happening, well it's the DNR's responsibility to protect native environments and species and feral ones no matter how they were introduced or how pretty they are, simply have to go when they start becoming a threat to native populations which is what is happening here. We arent talking 1-2 swans, there are THOUSANDS of them in each of the areas where they are becoming a problem, they dont migrate , so they continuously damage the same areas over and over. By Migrating the ecosystem would have a chance to heal between swan runs, but they dont.
They run off or just out right kill native waterfowl in breeding season, they'll beat the heck out of you too if you accidentally get too close.
Saw one projection for just one bay that said at their current rate of reproduction , ON JUST THAT ONE BAY, they could hit 20,000 birds in just a few years.
Look at what has happened to the snow goose population, it went unchecked and they are dying now due to over population.
The DNR doesnt make half cocked decisions when it comes to wild life management, you can bet they have spend many thousands of dollars in time and research to come up with a good over all solution for the protection of our environment and native species. Then all these animal rights groups come in and sue them when they try to do what is right.
They arent talking about slaughtering every swan out there, but simply getting the numbers in check and down to a number where they are manageable.
THEY HAVENT TRIED ANYTHING ELSE?? Yes they have, read all the links, they have done egg destroying projects too, but with little to no direct effect on the current population.
All the bleeding hearts want to stop them from killing any animal, well sometimes it's a necessary evil for the betterment of all. Here's an idea, tell them you'll take all 20,000 of them off that one bay....
They have to go somewhere, simply put when an invasive species takes over a native environment, they have to go one way or the other. By not allowing the DNR to do their job here, you are now indirectly murdering all the NATIVE species that the swans are killing off. It's not so much a pollution issue, it's a destruction of habitat loss, and they will and do kill other waterfowl.
Get all the facts before we get all mad with a chip on our shoulder. Know what you are protesting, in this case you are protesting the DNR trying to save native ecosystems...
What's wrong with that, the causes come in all forms, some chemical pollution, some pretty non native animals but the result is the same........
 
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For the record - I don't like swan being killed, esp inhumanely!

I would like to know where the facts came from? "make 1200 to 1500 a pair" & "puppy mill like environments"

Also blaming the breeders- but then wanting them located in private ownership seems contradictory to me.

https://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=322042
Purely Poultry's prices

Many people can own a pair of swans for the enjoyment of looking at them alone and not let them reproduce. I, for one, have many pairs of birds and collect the eggs so they don't reproduce.

And surely you have to know that not all breeders take good care of their animals and use them for the sole purpose of making money.

And why kill the swans that are in rescues?
 
Quote:
For the record - I don't like swan being killed, esp inhumanely!

I would like to know where the facts came from? "make 1200 to 1500 a pair" & "puppy mill like environments"

Also blaming the breeders- but then wanting them located in private ownership seems contradictory to me.

https://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=322042
Purely Poultry's prices

Many people can own a pair of swans for the enjoyment of looking at them alone and not let them reproduce. I, for one, have many pairs of birds and collect the eggs so they don't reproduce.

And surely you have to know that not all breeders take good care of their animals and use them for the sole purpose of making money.

And why kill the swans that are in rescues?

Purely Poultry is not a place I would order waterfowl from... on the Swans I have seen them for $400-500 an they are asking $1200-1500... but then again they are asking $189.99 for Wood Ducks that sell for around $40 a pair and $199.99 for Mandarins that cost only aroudn $60.... Some of the .commers that don't to buy from real breeders and not these hatcheries that buy from others and sell. They don't actually raise their waterfowl..

However if they are going to dispose of the swans then it shoud be done humanly! I am sure some of them they could capture and sell in order to help save/revive the area.. Now that would be a thought.. Instead of killing them all make some money out of the over pollulation to help....
 
yep find another example, Purely Poultry owns absoulutely no birds, they drop ship from the actual breeders that supply them, thus the higher prices, $400- $500 (actual breeder/ producer price)is all they are worth unless you go threw a middle man like this. For that matter rule out stromberg's, efowl, murray mc murray etc, none of those places raise swans or any of the rare fowl they offer, they are all drop shipped from breeders and the "hatcheries" simply mark up the price often 200- 300%.
In all honesty there are VERY few actual breeders of mute swans in the US, even less for the other species of swans. I have worked with migratory waterfowl my hole life, I'm not just making stuff up here I have hands on with almost every species of migratory/ornamental waterfowl kept in captivity. Very few are produced nation wide in the big scheme of things, and the demand is fairly low for them due to their large size, aggressive nature, and several other aspects of keeping them.

Yes, I would love to see these wild ones put to better use, but the simple fact is, with the numbers of birds we are talking about here, if every would be keeper took 20 of them, there would still be thousands of them left to do something with.

True waterfowl breeders are very dedicated to what they do and most all take extremely good care of their stock. Yes like in every thing there are a small handful that dont, but with these types of birds, if you neglect them, well, they dont reproduce, so the concept of a mill is not true.
As for the ones in rehab, well are the in rehab for wild release like most rehab birds? If so, that's why. Now if they can be placed, I see no harm in that at all, in fact they should be, but again, supply and demand may over whelm each other in this case.
 
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