By Jessica Mathews / news@whmi.com


A group of around 20 carried signs and protested outside before Monday night’s Genoa Township board meeting against a state program related to mute swan management.

After increasing reports about significant problems on Crooked Lake and increasing incidents and attacks, the township board approved a resolution in July to allow residents on lakes the ability to more easily petition the Michigan Department of Natural Resources. It operates a management and control program and issues permits to remove mute swans and/or their nests and eggs.

In Defense of Animals is an international animal protection organization based in California. A press release from the group states the board passed a “mass slaughter resolution for the Michigan DNR to kill mute swans on all lakes in the township” and is urging the township to rescind it and explore non-lethal alternatives. The group alleges mute swans are not detrimental to the environment but rather a Sentinel species - which are animals and plants that serve as an early warning of danger to human health and the environment. The group is further calling on Governor Gretchen Whitmer to issue a moratorium on the program but says it has yet to receive a response.

The township meanwhile has received thousands of generic emails from people who live out-of-state and before Monday night’s meeting, a group of around 20 people carried signs outside. Roughly a handful of people spoke during Call to the Public Monday, although the topic was not on the agenda, saying the township was wrong and alleged it was killing swans.

Supervisor Bill Rogers told WHMI the frustrating part is that the township never proposed killing swans but reacted to lake owners who are having a major issue with a very aggressive swan that is not native to Michigan. Rogers said he can’t speak for the rest of the board but at this juncture, the resolution is not coming back. He clarified that the township has nothing to do with the permits or how the problem is alleviated but suggested people who spoke at the meeting contact the experts at the MDNR to try to get rules and regulations changed as residents are just following the law.


The MDNR’s website states that mute swans are extremely hostile and chase native breeding birds from their nests. They’re said to drive out native breeding waterfowl such as trumpeter swans and the threatened common loon as well as other wetland wildlife with their hostile behavior.

As the population has grown, the department says so has the level of conflict with humans, and reported attacks on humans in boats and onshore have become more frequent. The MDNR says a single mute swan can also consume four to eight pounds of plants a day, damaging ecosystems. With their numbers growing quickly, the MDNR says the non-native invasive species are causing conflicts and damage across the state.

The management efforts aim to reduce the number of potentially dangerous conflicts with humans. There are different methods of capture, euthanasia, and/or removal, which are detailed on the MDNR website. A link is provided.