By Kelsey Durham
The state Senate passed a bill last week placing a two-year moratorium on a highly criticized plan by the state Department of Environmental Conservation to eradicate more than 2,000 mute swans, the same day three DEC agents in an upstate New York park allegedly took part in the killing of two of the birds while in an unmarked boat, Sen. Tony Avella (D-Bayside) said.
Avella announced June 18 that the bill he wrote and introduced earlier this year unanimously passed the Senate, just a few days before the northeast Queens representative learned that three agents in Jefferson County, just south of the Canadian border, allegedly shot two mute swans in front of spectators who were visiting Black River Bay, park-goers told local news station WWNY TV 7.
Witnesses described to the station hearing loud gunshots as the DEC agents killed the birds with a handful of baby swans nearby, which local residents said they fear now will not be able to survive.
The DEC could not be reached for comment about the incident this week.
Avella introduced the moratorium bill in February after the DEC came under fire for announcing a controversial plan to kill the state’s entire mute swan population — about 2,200 — by 2025, citing the birds as an invasive species that causes harm to several plants and animals also living in their environment.
But the senator argued that the agency did not present enough proof to support its plan, which the newly enacted legislation requires the DEC to do.
“These birds have been around for decades and the population is estimated at only 2,200,” Avella said. “How can they be a threat to society? This has been a huge issue for the state of New York and I am glad we will now have the time to properly examine and hopefully change this plan.”
The DEC agreed to alter its plans and consider non-lethal ways of controlling the mute swan population after a five-week public comment period led to more than 16,000 letters and 30,000 signatures on a petition to stop the eradication.
Upon hearing about the killings last week, Avella released a joint statement with Edita Birnkrant, campaign director for Friends of Animals, a Manhattan-based animal advocacy group.
“To say that this was a horrific and inhuman incident is an understatement,” the statement said. “The fact that these killings were carried out after DEC agreed to revise their eradication plan and present it for another public hearing is even more shameful and most definitely warrants an immediate investigation.”
Avella also composed a letter June 20 addressed to DEC Commissioner Joseph Martens in which the senator said he was “absolutely outraged at these horrific turn of events” and asked Martens how the DEC could justify the “senseless” killings. He also demanded that the DEC immediately put a stop to all killing operations across the state and asked Martens to personally review the alleged incident.
“What is even more troubling is that the shootings happened in broad daylight in front of passers-by enjoying their day near the bay,” Avella wrote.
Avella’s moratorium bill passed the state Assembly last month and will now move on to Gov. Andrew Cuomo to sign.
Reach reporter Kelsey Durham at 718-260-4573 or by e-mail at kdurham@cnglocal.com.
