I agree with Dave Nutter. I saw the petition. Wouldn't sign it. EVER. Remember that snow geese were more or less protected for yrs.. They are far more wary than Canadas so the extra hunting season for them doesn't do much to diminish their numbers. Now they are an absolute plague, esp. to rice farmers in the south, to say nothing of the irreparable damage to the fragile Arctic tundra which will not renew in the lifetime of our grandchildren if no snows ever return there. It is there that many other waterbirds, perhaps in the millions, some on endangered lists, return to breed & raise their young .... hoping to find enough food & shelter not eaten or destroyed by the snows.
Hunters now have an extended season to take snows, until 15 April ... the bag limit is 25 a day with no possession limit. With over a million snows just in our Atlantic flyway I see no hope of lowering their numbers which back about 20 yrs. ago were a more manageable 50,000 birds. The mute swans are doing similar damage to ponds, lakes & waterways where other creatures depend on what the mutes are destroying. Look at the map of NY & see the mute density areas. Other states are having the same big problems with mutes. They don't have to be teased or aggravated to be mean & aggressive. Since they have killed grown men think what they can do to a child with those large, strong wings as well as with their powerful bills. There is also concern now about what diseases they are carrying that are harmful to other forms of wildlife. I, too, think they are beautiful, just as these petition pushers do. The problem is that they are like the protectors of rattlesnakes. They have never considered or encountered the bad side. My rant! Fritzie Dave Nutter wrote on 1/25/2014: I trust the managers on this one. On Jan 25, 2014, at 08:12 AM, Eric Banford <[email protected]> wrote: So the plan is to eradicate the Mute Swan in NY? I know it is invasive, but that seems a bit harsh. I just got this petition against this plan, in case anyone is interested: https://www.change.org/petitions/new-york-state-department-of-environmental-conservation-stop-new-york-state-s-swan-killing-plan Thanks, Eric -- Cayugabirds-L List Info: http://www.NortheastBirding.com/CayugabirdsWELCOME http://www.NortheastBirding.com/CayugabirdsRULES http://www.NortheastBirding.com/CayugabirdsSubscribeConfigurationLeave.htm ARCHIVES: 1) http://www.mail-archive.com/[email protected]/maillist.html 2) http://www.surfbirds.com/birdingmail/Group/Cayugabirds 3) http://birdingonthe.net/mailinglists/CAYU.html Please submit your observations to eBird: http://ebird.org/content/ebird/ --
