WASHINGTON – Maryland Department of Natural Resources (DNR) officials have acceded to a federal judge's request that the State delay its plans to kill some 2,000 mute swans for at least a month. Earlier this week residents of Maryland's Eastern Shore and the Fund for Animals filed a motion for a preliminary injunction to halt Maryland's plan to kill mute swans, which was scheduled to begin on May 15. Shortly thereafter, Judge Sullivan of the U.S. District Court in Washington D.C. ordered a status hearing, which took place this morning and led to the postponement of the swan killing program.
Swan advocates filed the lawsuit last week after the DNR refused The Humane Society of the United States' (HSUS) offer to develop a humane egg-addling program for mute swans. Such programs have successfully resolved conflicts over waterfowl populations in several states. Two years ago, the same plaintiffs sought and obtained a preliminary injunction halting DNR's plans to kill hundreds of mute swans. The swan killing program was stopped because the State was unable to produce any credible scientific evidence that swans are harming the Chesapeake Bay ecosystem.
"We are pleased that the state's plans to shoot adult mute swans have been put on hold," said Dr. John W. Grandy, senior vice president of The Humane Society of the United States. "We hope that today's temporary reprieve will become permanent, and that the State can turn its attention to addressing the real threats to the Chesapeake Bay, like pollution from factory farms and sewage treatment plants."
A hearing on Plaintiffs' motion for a preliminary injunction is scheduled for 10 a.m. on June 3rd, at the U.S. District Court in Washington D.C., located at 333 Constitution Avenue NW.
The Humane Society of the United States represents nearly nine million members and constituents. The non-profit organization is a mainstream voice for animals, with active programs in companion animals and equine protection, disaster preparedness and response, wildlife and habitat protection, animals in research and farm animals and sustainable agriculture. The HSUS protects all animals through litigation, investigation, education, legislation, advocacy and fieldwork. The HSUS and The Fund for Animals joined forces and combined their operations in January 2005. The group is based in Washington and has numerous field representatives across the country.
