Michigan DNR has been shooting swans all over the state. Their plan is to reduce the numbers drastically. Unless the lake is your private property none of your swans are safe from being culled. There is a meeting coming up that will allow public comments. If you are a resident of Michigan please try to attend. The swans dont have a voice, they need you to speak up for them.

Here is some info from the michigan humane society website.

The Michigan Department of Natural Resources and the Environment (DNRE) is currently considering plans that would significantly affect swan populations here in the state of Michigan. Under a proposal currently in front of the Natural Resources Commission, Michigan’s Wildlife Conservation Order would be amended to ban the release of mute swans into the state. If this were to be approved, licensed swan rehabilitators will be prevented from rehabilitating sick or injured swans.

The state considers mute swans to be an invasive, rapidly expanding species in Michigan, claiming that the population has jumped to approximately 15,000 in 2010, compared to a population of 5,400 a decade ago. The state says they have implemented management efforts to reduce the population, but that they have not had the desired effect. As such, they are currently drafting changes to the current policy, which could include the killing thousands of swans annually when they gather on state-owned land.

There are other methods to curb the population of mute swans, including the destruction of eggs and nests, without resorting to the drastic measures currently being considered by the DNRE. This approach has worked extremely well with Canada geese here in the state. In fact, Michigan is the only state in our region to have successfully reduced their goose population to target level, thanks in part to the DNRE’s aggressive egg and nest destruction program carried out by individual land owners under special permits.

The Natural Resources Commission is scheduled to meet on Thursday, February 10, to discuss the first of these changes, the ban of releasing mute swans into the state. You can read the proposed changes at this website: http://www.michigan.gov/documents/dnr/02-11_Mute_Swan_Mgt_INFO_12_13_10_340677_7.pdf.

If you have an opinion on these changes and would like to provide comments to the commission, you may attend the Feb. 10 Commission meeting and address the Commission during the public comment portion of the meeting, or submit written comments to Natural Resources Commission. To do so, please write P.O. Box 30028, Lansing, Michigan 48909 or e-mail at whippled1@michigan.gov. If you would like further information from the state or would like to address the Commission, you may contact Debbie Whipple at the DNRE at (517) 373-2352.