After a long battle, Manny and Faye — the famous mute swan pair at the Manlius Swan Pond — will be able to legally hatch their cygnets.
This news came June 1 in the form of a special invasive species permit from the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation to Manlius Mayor Paul Whorrall that allows Manny and Faye to be able to hatch their cygnets under conditions.
In early March, the DEC ruled mute swans an invasive species and a plan was put in place to eliminate the species, totaling about 2,200, from the state by 2025.
The new invasive species permit has several conditions set in place by the DEC to ensure the mute swans in Manlius are kept confined to the pond and do not cause the problems that led the DEC to rule mute swans an invasive species, which include contaminating water supply, disrupting ecosystems and aggressive behavior towards humans.
“I was pleased to see they [the DEC] were willing to work with us, especially since we take good care of the swans in the pond and they were not the ones in the state causing problems,” said Whorrall.
These conditions include keeping to swans in the containment site at the pond and notifying the DEC of deaths or escaped mute swans from the area. The village must also outline how the cygnets that are hatched will be removed from the pond and brought to other DEC-licensed mute swan owners or to entities outside of New York state. Typically, the Manlius cygents are removed from the pond after about half a year living there to make room for the next group to be hatched in the following year.
The village of Manlius also must submit an annual Captive Animal Exhibition Report Form to the DEC in order to keep the permit that allows the Manlius swans to hatch their eggs.
The road to receive this exception to hatch mute swan cygnets at the Manlius Swan Pond has been a long one, said Whorrall, but has been worth it because the swans are a symbol of the village and add to the quality of life for its residents.
After the March ruling that mute swans were an invasive species, the DEC decided that organizations who kept swans in a controlled and cared-for environment, like the village of Manlius, could apply for an invasive species permit to keep their current mute swans.
This was bittersweet news for Manny and Faye because it meant they would not be allowed to breed, but could continue to live in the pond. The village of Manlius made an appeal to the DEC to allowed to pair to hatch cygnets because Faye carries a recessive genetic trait that is passed down to her cygnets that gives some white bills, white feet and blue eyes rather than the usual black feet, black-and-orange bills and brown eyes.
In early April, Whorrall and Village Trustee Janice Abdo-Rott met with representative from the DEC, but with no luck.
This meeting lead the village to look to alternative options, such as removing the pair and bringing them to a state that would allow them to breed, or to allow the pair to hatch eggs and raise the cygnets from a different swan species.
In late April, the village board learned of a bill that was passed in the New York State Senate that would put a moratorium on the DEC’s ruling for two years and require the DEC to fully document the scientific basis for declaring the species invasive and includes a public education component by the DEC about their ruling.
This bill has not been ruled on by Governor Andre Cuomo, but the Manlius Village Board decided they would allow the cygnets to hatch as they normally would.
But for now, the village of Manlius will be able to enjoy seeing the cygnets hatch, as long as they adhere to the conditions set in the permit.
“I hope this shows the DEC how important the swans are to this village,” said Whorrall. “We want to continue to work with them to make sure we can keep them for the enjoyment of the residents.”
Hayleigh Gowans is a reporter for the Eagle Bulletin. She can be reached at [email protected].
