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everything has a right to life even if they are mute ....OMG to the rest of you who said it is okay with you if they cull them OMG get a heart or better yet get some blood running in your veins and not ice water ...we humans are horrible to other creatures who live on this earth with us .
The fact that they are called 'mute' does not mean they make no noise and aren't being killed as if they are some defective creature.
Get a heart? I gather you're a vegetarian?
These swans have been here for over 100 years and it's taken them 100 years for them to have increased their population to this point. They are only aggressive if someone goes out of their way to initiate contact. They get defensive. The Audobon Soceity is opposed, as well as the local ASPCA organizations to eradication of the species on Long Island. There are other factors that are more responsible for habitat and local fish destruction. The Canada geese population has increased much more exponentially here and is more destructive than the mute swan. We have a number of non-native bird species that were brought here accidentally, including South American parrots, that have adapted quite well. This is the only species that I know of that the DEC wishes to completely eradicate, as oppose to population management.
Thank you Coney & Phonelady. I don't know where we get off killing an animal because it "bugs" us. The swan lives there, the migrating birds can visit somewhere else and be fine. We're becoming so hateful and cruel its shocks me. Killing for food is one thing, this is just wrong.
What is appalling is the ignorance of basic ecology that some posters exhibit. Non-native species almost always spell trouble for most of the ecosystems they're introduced into.
Starlings are not native to North America. Neither are house sparrows. Both species intimidate and displace native bird species in urban/suburban areas.
American chestnut trees have been wiped out by the chestnut blight brought here from Asia. American Elms are in almost the same situation for the same reason.
Zebra mussels and lampreys have wreaked havoc on the ecosystems of the Great Lakes. Eurasian carp are causing serious issues in the Mississippi watershed.
Many of the native species in the Hawaiian Islands and on other Pacific Islands are threatened by introduced species of birds, mammals, and reptiles.
Purple loosestrife infests millions of acres of wetlands, and displaces native plants like cattails that are used for cover, food, and nest sites for native species from birds to mammals to amphibians.
What is appalling is the ignorance of basic ecology that some posters exhibit. Non-native species almost always spell trouble for most of the ecosystems they're introduced into.
Starlings are not native to North America. Neither are house sparrows. Both species intimidate and displace native bird species in urban/suburban areas.
American chestnut trees have been wiped out by the chestnut blight brought here from Asia. American Elms are in almost the same situation for the same reason.
Zebra mussels and lampreys have wreaked havoc on the ecosystems of the Great Lakes. Eurasian carp are causing serious issues in the Mississippi watershed.
Many of the native species in the Hawaiian Islands and on other Pacific Islands are threatened by introduced species of birds, mammals, and reptiles.
Purple loosestrife infests millions of acres of wetlands, and displaces native plants like cattails that are used for cover, food, and nest sites for native species from birds to mammals to amphibians.
This is true under certain circumstances. For instance, the introduction of the mongoose to the Hawaiian Island decimated the state bird, the NeNe goose. It would be impossible to remove the entire population of the mongoose now. But this is different. The mute swan has been on Long Island for more than 120 years. Any environmental changes have already happened. Most of the enviromental problems on Long Island were caused by overdevelopment, human interference. Migratory patterns have also changed and affected the environmental chain on Long Island. The DEC does not want to control the population of the mute swan, as they are advocating for Long Island's exploding deer population, Canada Geese population, and now perhaps the Brent, but rather to annhilate them completely. Since these birds have been here for such a long time, I wonder if their complete removal will cause a different set of environmental problems. Our crows and herons feed on their eggs and young offspring. We see other swans occassionally on Long Island, but they are migratory. Mute swans do not migrate.
In the UK, all mute swans are the property of the Queen. They are protected and it is a criminal offense to move their nests or harm them in any way.
Deport them to areas where ponds are becoming choked with overgrown vegetation from high nitrogen release from septic systems and fertilizers. They'll keep the ponds open. They're very good at keeping oceanside ponds on the upper Cape Cod area free of vegetation overgrowth.
I agree with not killing them. They're so majestic and lovely, an absolute pleasure to see gliding on an open pond.
Location: RI, MA, VT, WI, IL, CA, IN (that one sucked), KY
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Good. These are horrible invasive exotics. They're non native and a detriment to native wildlife.
I've actually worked on programs to stop them from reproducing where they compete with trumpeter swans. It generally involved treating eggs in the nest with a substance (often mineral oil) so they won't hatch. Can't just take the eggs or they'll re-lay.
And just peaves, but they're snakeheads, not snakefish... and the population of burmese pythons in the everglades didn't get their from released pets (hate that promoted myth) but from a exotic wildlife wholesale facility being decimated during a hurricane.
This discussion can be said to be one of favoring one specie (plant and animal) over others so those you accuse of being cold hearted may just have broader concerns than you do.
Oft times, decisions have to be based on something other than overly emotional reactions.
Last edited by PJSaturn; 02-06-2014 at 01:09 PM..
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