We have looked into the facilities that Embassy Suite Hotels provide for their swans and believe that they are not cruel to the swans. Ample swimming, bathing, feeding and preening areas are provided. Swans are naturally lazy birds, especially in captive settings. Even in some wild settings, the birds will choose to "migrate" only a few feet from the nearest food bucket. Swans are very happy to sit and watch the world go by, even if it means lazily floating on the water sleeping. Just because the birds are kept indoors in a small area does not necessarily equate to a cruel environment.

Yes, some people may deem this a zoo-like setting and unnatural because the swans can't fly or enjoy a large outside pond. However, these swans are captive bred and actually more protected than swans kept in many outdoor settings. Fact: Most states deem the Mute Swans an invasive non-native species which is totally false information perpetuated so they can be killed and the larger swan species, Trumpeter Swans can be introduced for hunting purposes. This killing is occurring in many states: Michigan, Ohio, Maryland, New Jersey, Illinois and many other states at taxpayer expense. New York is proposing killing them also; however, legislation has been introduced to stop the killing, but must be signed by Gov. Cuomo to become law.

Swans living under these state laws are required to be pinioned so they cannot fly which places them at a further disadvantage in outdoor settings because they cannot escape predators. At least the Embassy Suite Hotel is keeping the swans in a safe secure habitat protected from predators, U.S. Wildlife Services and state wildlife entities from shooting them out of the sky, beating them to death with oars or baseball bats and stomping their cygnets (baby swans) to death. This taxpayer based killing (usually conducted without taxpayer knowledge) is what is truly cruel and needs to be stopped. Enjoy the swans during your visit to Texas. They are safe. The Regal Swan