November 29, 2016

For Immediate Release

Contact: Shirley Bolin

Tel.: (407) 931-6838

Email: Bolin.S@att.net

Regal Swan® Foundation, Inc. Wins Fight To Save Mute Swans In NY

NY Gov. Andrew Cuomo has signed into law, a bill protecting Mute Swans in the state of New York. The Mute Swan bill, introduced by NY Assemblyman Steven Cymbrowitz and NY Senator Tony Avella, in collaboration with The Regal Swan® Foundation, Inc., the League of Humane Voters, GooseWatch NYC, Friends of Animals and Save Our Swans, was finally passed after a three-year battle.

The Mute Swan bill effectively stops the NY Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC), from killing, mutilating or labeling Mute Swans as a prohibitive species. This 2-year moratorium requires the NY DEC to demonstrate that Mute Swans have caused actual damage to the environment or to other species, including humans.

“This bill was an important step to saving this entire species from annihilation due to ignorance, misinformation and junk science,” explains Sheila Bolin, CEO of the Regal Swan® Foundation, Inc.

“The Mute Swan is an important indicator species alerting scientists to critical changes in the environment caused by heavy metals, such as lead, mercury and copper as well as harmful micro-organisms. If state officials in Michigan had not been so adamant about killing all Mute Swans, perhaps the Flint River pollution would have been detected much earlier, thus saving the lives of many victims.

The effects of killing off this particular species in New York could have had disastrous results for years to come,” she said. Bolin was named as one of the top 28 conservationists in the world by the prestigious Indianapolis Prize for 2016. Bolin and her team are recognized for their work with swans worldwide.

About The Regal Swan® Foundation, Inc.

RSF is based in Orlando, Florida and is committed to providing humane treatment and veterinary medical care for swans worldwide (both captive and wild), through education, research, conservation, swan rescue and swan product development. The program is a U.S. Presidential “Daily Point of Light” recipient, the Florida Governor’s “Points of Light” award winner, the recipient of the prestigious Jefferson Award, for Public Service and a recipient of the John Muir Conservation Award. For more information, please visit: www.theregalswan.com, www.swansoftheworldhabitat.com and “Ask The Specialist” at www.stanley-park-swans.com in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.