Anticipated death sentence for ‘aggressive swan’ ends with the unexpected

In Brick Township, New Jersey, neighbors in Seawood Harbor were fighting to save the life of a male swan after he had been deemed “too aggressive.” Residents defending the swan stated he had been protecting the baby swans and had been constantly harassed by local jet skiers.

According to NewJerseyNews12, the United States Department of Agriculture agreed the bird was too aggressive and ordered the swan to be trapped and euthanized. Friday was to be the day the swan would be euthanized, however fate stepped in.

First, let’s retrace the swan’s story.

Alfie, an adult male mute swan had been swimming in the Seawood Harbor waterways for years. Recently, however Alfie took exception to the noisy jet skiers who residents stated came precariously close to the swan and his babies. Residents say the jet skiers would circle around the swan and agitate him until he struck out at the teens – at which time the kids would video the swan’s aggressive actions.

And when one of the neighbors decided they no longer wanted Alfie swimming around in the waterway despite just giving him a wide berth to peacefully coexist, the New Jersey Fish and Wildlife deemed the swan dangerous and readied themselves to kill the bird despite even having solicited the help  of Mayor Ducey and other elected officials, including State Senator James W. Holzapfel, in trying to get a permit from New Jersey to capture Alfie and relocate him to a local sanctuary who offered to help and take in the entire family of swans.

According to the New York Times, Alfie’s execution was scheduled to be carried out on Friday. And then fate stepped in:

“John Bergmann, the director of Popcorn Park, the rescue organization that had agreed to take Alfie, got a call Friday afternoon: There was a swan in the waters near Seawood Harbor with fishing line wrapped around its beak and in need of help.

Mr. Bergmann drove to the area and, using bait, got the swan to shore, into his vehicle and back to his facility.

“I’m pretty sure it’s the same swan,” he said in a phone interview, adding that, given the bureaucratic obstacles to trying to move the bird, the tangle of fishing line had “probably saved his life.”

Late Friday, the rescued swan’s identity still awaited official confirmation. But the likelihood that it was Alfie, and that he had made his way to Ms. Almeida’s  desired location even without the necessary paperwork, was welcome news…”

For sure Alfie had a guardian angel. When will people learn to live with wildlife – after all they deserve to live happily ever after and raise their families in peace too.

Here’s a solution for everyone concerning wildlife and especially the swans in this situation – LEAVE THEM ALONE!

Read prior article here.

Follow the National Pet Rescue on Facebook for the latest animal related news.