Just a quick note to let tweeter' readers know that the Mute Swan is classified
as "deleterious wildlife" by the Washington Department of Fish & Wildlife since
the early 1990's. This means that it is not legal to breed, purchase, sell or
transfer (even free) mute swans within the state of Washington. The Department
is also mandated to remove mutes from the wild when found (implementing this is
often not easy).
The reason for this was that at least three breeding pairs were found in
Western Washington and had killed many ducks, ducklings and goslings on the
lakes where nesting, attacked and killed two dogs, and attacked at least three
people. In other areas of the country (in the mid-west, Idaho, Wyoming and some
portions of the east coast) mute swan control has been undertaken to curb their
destruction of habitat and displacement of our native waterfowl. Replacement
with native swans has been the goal.
Yes, it is true that mutes do exist up in Victoria and Vancouver, they
have created problems there. It is unfortunate that these beautiful birds can
and often do create problems where they settle.
Efforts are being made to remove as many of these mutes as possible
before they begin to breed consistantly within our borders. I agree with Gene
that we need to keep track of the population and distribution.

Martha Jordan