Date: Thu, 1 Feb 2001 10:32:04 -0500 Reply-To: Maryland Birds & Birding Sender: Maryland Birds & Birding From: Elliot Kirschbaum Subject: Re: Shooting of Trumpeter Swan In-Reply-To: Mime-version: 1.0 Content-type: text/plain; charset="US-ASCII" Content-transfer-encoding: 7bit on 1/31/01 8:58 PM, David Mozurkewich at mozurk@BELLATLANTIC.NET wrote: > We have just heard about a Trumpeter Swan being shot with a pellet gun by > a vandal on Sunday. I do not condone this type of vandalism. These birds > ought to be shot by DNR so the job will get done right. I almost sent a similar reply, but decided not to as I could not figure out how to say it as diplomatically (G) as you. Actually, I am as philosophically opposed to animal population "control" as I am to introduction. I am just opposed to creating the problem in the first place. Unfortunately, DNR, FWS, and myriad others think that this (re)introduction is a wonderful idea. Why they do is beyond me. Even if this species was in the Chesapeake Bay a couple of hundred years ago, the Chesapeake Bay is not now what it was then. I am afraid that this introduction is motivated by the fact that big birds attract the public, and that it is being done for publicity, not as a result of good science. The public will come to see Mute Swans, and there are certainly plenty of them. Elliot Kirschbaum Baltimore, MD USA mailto:ekirschb@bcpl.net ======================================================================= To leave the MDOsprey list, send e-mail to listserv@home.ease.lsoft.com with the following message in line 1: signoff mdosprey ======================================================================= =========================================================================