Faced with fast growing populations of wild mute swans, it seems that New York may soon take action by either capturing or euthanizing mute swans in the city.
Mute swans are referred as such due to the fact that they are not as vocal compared to other species of swan. These arguably extreme population control methods may come in to effect by the year 2015 if wild swan populations continue to rise.
Mute swans or Cygnus olor are native to Asia and Europe but a number of mute swans were introduced to North America back in the late 19th century. Since then, populations of wild mute swans have continued to grow at an estimated 10 percent per year. Mute swans are now considered as an invasive species in many parts of North America and the population of these beautiful animals continues to double roughly every 8 years. While they are considered to be unprotected, invasive animals in many states, a few states such as Connecticut have declared that these birds are protected under state law.
In New York, state officials are concerned that growing populations of mute swans are threatening the local ecosystem. The officials are also concerned that mute swans are displacing many local species of birds. Moreover, a variety of water plants are also coming under threat due to the growing numbers of these swans. Additional concerns include decreasing water quality and air traffic problems for many aircrafts operating in the area.
The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) is looking for possible solutions to the problem. The department argues that wild mute swans can also be aggressive towards humans and other local wildlife. The department is now exploring a variety of methods to control the population of mute swans. Proposed countermeasures include sterilization and euthanasia. Other proposals also include plans to capture some of the birds for housing in wildlife facilities or city zoos.
However, a number of residents in the city have voiced their opposition to the DEC plans stating that these methods are unnecessarily cruel and other more humane options should be explored.
