It turns out it's not just state officials that are concerned about burgeoning mute swan (Cygnus olor) populations in the U.S. (see previous blog entry). The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has a plan, currently open to public comment, that seeks to eradicate as much as 85% of the swans in the eastern U.S., in part by allowing states to issue permits to shoot the graceful invasives. Of course there are swan fans and animal rights activists very concerned about this, and you can read some of their points of view, as well as those of state wildlife officials, in this article about swans in my hometown, published in the Metrowest Daily News. If you would like to read the USFWS' draft environmental assessment for mute swan management, go here and click on the link (to a .pdf file). The deadline for comments is July 14th. Also, claims from people interviewed for the article that there was no evidence of the swans being invasive led me to search for and find evidence here and here.
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