1srelluc
Diamond Member
Hell done froze over!
pro.stateaffairs.com
A new California law will allow hunters to kill nonnative swans. Gov. Gavin Newsom signed the bill, Assembly Bill 764, into law on Tuesday.
The bill adds mute swans — the iconic white swan brought to the United States to decorate parks and estates — to the list of invasive birds that can be hunted with few restrictions, joining the English sparrow and starling.
The population of mute swans in California has grown dramatically over the last few years.
“It’s pretty alarming what we’re seeing,” Andrew Engilis, curator of the Museum of Wildlife and Fish Biology at the University of California, Davis, told State Affairs. “The spread is uncontrolled.”
The bill was authored by Asm. Jeff Gonzalez, R-Indio, and sponsored by hunting groups, including the California Waterfowl Association.
“AB 764 is a proactive, science-driven solution to a fast-growing problem — one that threatens our native wildlife and the health of our wetlands,” Gonzalez said in a statement. “By responsibly managing invasive mute swans, we’re taking an important step to ensure future generations inherit a California just as rich in natural beauty as the one we enjoy today.”
Engilis is part of a team that is working on a paper tracking the mute swan population and its spread.
“In the last 15 years, I’d say the species has really exploded,” Engilis said.
The first instance of mute swans in California that Engilis could find record of was in 1965 at the Griffith Park Zoo in Los Angeles.
“These particular swans are an ornamental species, and so people bring them into cities and towns,” he said.
Once released, California’s waterways proved to be prime habitat for the swans.
They’ve spread to lakes and reservoirs across Northern California; however, Engilis said they especially enjoy the open water in the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta, where researchers have observed flocks as large as 400 birds.
If CA can do it with Mute Swans then the nasty Canadian Geese should be next on the list everywhere else.
I don't know how good Swans are to eat though I've heard they are about the same as a goose depending on what they have been eating.
Newsom Signs Bill Allowing Hunting of Invasive Mute Swans
California's new law authorizes the hunting of invasive mute swans to preserve native wildlife and wetlands, as their numbers have surged.
A new California law will allow hunters to kill nonnative swans. Gov. Gavin Newsom signed the bill, Assembly Bill 764, into law on Tuesday.
The bill adds mute swans — the iconic white swan brought to the United States to decorate parks and estates — to the list of invasive birds that can be hunted with few restrictions, joining the English sparrow and starling.
The population of mute swans in California has grown dramatically over the last few years.
“It’s pretty alarming what we’re seeing,” Andrew Engilis, curator of the Museum of Wildlife and Fish Biology at the University of California, Davis, told State Affairs. “The spread is uncontrolled.”
The bill was authored by Asm. Jeff Gonzalez, R-Indio, and sponsored by hunting groups, including the California Waterfowl Association.
“AB 764 is a proactive, science-driven solution to a fast-growing problem — one that threatens our native wildlife and the health of our wetlands,” Gonzalez said in a statement. “By responsibly managing invasive mute swans, we’re taking an important step to ensure future generations inherit a California just as rich in natural beauty as the one we enjoy today.”
Engilis is part of a team that is working on a paper tracking the mute swan population and its spread.
“In the last 15 years, I’d say the species has really exploded,” Engilis said.
The first instance of mute swans in California that Engilis could find record of was in 1965 at the Griffith Park Zoo in Los Angeles.
“These particular swans are an ornamental species, and so people bring them into cities and towns,” he said.
Once released, California’s waterways proved to be prime habitat for the swans.
They’ve spread to lakes and reservoirs across Northern California; however, Engilis said they especially enjoy the open water in the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta, where researchers have observed flocks as large as 400 birds.
If CA can do it with Mute Swans then the nasty Canadian Geese should be next on the list everywhere else.
I don't know how good Swans are to eat though I've heard they are about the same as a goose depending on what they have been eating.
