A Beloved Swan Named Faye Who Lived in an Upstate NY Pond, Killed and Eaten

Over the Memorial Day weekend at the Manlius Swan Pond in a Syracuse suburb, New York, USA, three teens hopped a fence overnight, capturing Faye, a beloved Mute swan, brutally killing her. Faye and Manny, her mate, had four cygnets who were stolen, leaving Manny alone. Those who took Faye ate her according to reports. The teens were reportedly hunting and thought she was a very large wild duck. They said they did not realize the significance of the swans to the village of Manlius. All of the cygnets were later found and turned over to the Avian biologist, Mike Bean, who holds the contract with the village to care for them. Bean said the cygnets are in good health. Swans have been a part of this village since 1905. Faye and Manny lived at the pond since 2007, each spring hatching and raising cygnets. As for Manny, left alone to grieve, he will most likely be removed from the pond as he could become combative to the cygnets after losing his mate.

Swans mate for life. If a mate is lost, the survivor will go through a grieving process like humans do. Manny will become depressed, stay to himself and sleep more. Swans typically mourn for about three months; in some cases, they may stop eating, drinking, and die.

The death of Faye received a public outcry. As an animal welfare advocate and Christian who sees that the Bible teaches we are to be merciful stewards of creation, I struggle greatly with my emotions over this unnecessary tragedy. I could feel Faye’s terror, pain and struggle as she was held down and decapitated. I could imagine the fear and chaos this caused her cygnets. One moment they were nesting with their mother, the next she was torn from them and violently killed in front of them. Then, they were snatched away from all they knew and taken to places completely foreign to them. I mourned for Faye and her cygnets. I mourn with Manny. I can imagine his grief. His whole world has changed in an instant. A public outcry is appropriate. Yet there are other instances where birds and animals are raised in abhorrent conditions, have their young taken away, and who are killed in unspeakable ways, who do not receive a public outcry. The world is largely silent about these injustices. Why is that?
 

Kathy Dunn

My calling as a Child of the Creator is to take the Gospel, as it relates to the WHOLE creation, to the world; and to remind the Church of its Biblical responsibilities to non-human animals and the earth.

www.shepherdingcreation.com