Waterfowl: Mute Swans

mute swans: But now, the New York state Department of Environmental Conservation has declared war on mute swans - the jumbo, snow-white waterfowl with the long, graceful necks - which were introduced from Europe in the late 1800s for their aesthetic appeal. , according to Hamilton Spectator. That is why the department proposed declaring the swans a "prohibited invasive species" and set a goal of eliminating virtually all of the 2,200 swans in the state by 2025. The birds would either be shot or captured and then gassed, and eggs on nests would be oiled, which keeps them from hatching. In the war against invasive species, the targets are typically unappealing. Think feral pigs, snakehead fish, Asian long-horned beetles and emerald ash borers. While they may be handsome, they can also be nasty: destroying habitat for native ducks and geese, attacking other waterfowl and people, and posing a risk to passenger jets. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.