New York Reverses Course After Public Outcry, Won't Exterminate Mute Swans

WESTCHESTER COUNTY, N.Y. -- Public outcry forced New York's Department of Environmental Conservation to reverse course Monday and will not exterminate mute swans, according to a report in Capital New York.

Public outcry forced the state Department of Environmental Conservation to rethink its decision that called for the elimination of mute swans.
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Tom Renner

03/11/2015 5:00 a.m.

A plan had called for elimination of all of the state's 2,200 mute swans because they are considered an invasive species, the report said. Under the new plan, the swans will be “minimized."

Legislative efforts led by state Sen. Tony Avella, a Democrat from Queens, forced DEC Commissioner Joe Martens to re-evaluate plans to exterminate the swans, which the state says destroy aquatic plants and ecosystems that native species depend upon for survival.

Under the new legislation, municipalities can keep swans at parks and other locations as long as local officials comply with state management plans.

Click here to read the Capital New York story.

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