US state of New York
Youngsters kill and eat popular village swans – they take the chicks as pets
Overnight, a swan and her chicks disappeared from a pond in a small community in the United States. Three youths killed the swan, ate it and kept her chicks (symbol image)
© Brian Lawless / Picture Alliance
In upstate New York, three teenagers killed a swan and then ate it with relatives and friends. They took their four chicks to keep as pets. The local community is shocked.
The small community of Manlius, New York, is mourning the loss of its swan, Faye, who is believed to have been killed and eaten by three youths, ages 16, 17 and 18. The three alleged perpetrators are said to have climbed over a fence around the community pond on Saturday night, killed the swan on the spot and then took her and her four chicks away.
Local residents reported to police on Monday that the swan and her chicks were no longer seen in the pond. A day later, she received a tip that two of the chicks had been spotted at a supermarket. With further clues, they would have found the other two chicks in a different place. On the same day, the three youths who are said to have committed the crime turned themselves in to the police.
Young people are said to have eaten swans with relatives
The youths had taken the dead swan and her chicks to a relative of one of the youths on Saturday night, prepared them there and, according to police, eat them with family and friends. The chicks would have wanted to keep them as pets. They are said to have stated that they took the swan for a large duck. They were not aware that Faye was not a wild bird but belonged to the community, Hatter said. Nevertheless, the young alleged perpetrators would now have to answer for criminal mischief, theft and trespassing.
Hunting swans is even legal in some US states, but not in New York. Ever since they first settled in Manlius pond in the early 20th century, swans have become a symbol of the suburb. “It’s sad,” Mayor Paul Whorrall told local media about Faye’s death. “It feels like we’ve lost a family member.”
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A biologist, who has already helped to raise swan Faye, is now supposed to take care of her four chicks for a few weeks before they are supposed to return to the pond. The swan father of the chicks, on the other hand, is to be removed from the pond, according to Whorral – after his mate was killed it is feared he could behave aggressively and harm the chicks. In the future, the pond will also be equipped with video surveillance.
Sources: With AFP material, CNN, The New York Times