Home > Outdoor news > You are here: Federal judge says Maryland swan hunt will remain on hold

Federal judge says Maryland swan hunt will remain on hold (9/11/2003)

A federal judge has ordered that a temporary ban on Maryland's mute swan hunt remain in place until he rules on a lawsuit brought by anti-hunters. The Fund for Animals, a national anti-hunting organization, filed the suit to put a permanent end to the hunt.

U.S. District Judge Emmett Sullivan is not convinced that Maryland will suffer "substantial harm" if a swan hunt does not occur, despite comments from the state's Department of Natural Resources (DNR). On September 9, he ruled that to "preserve the status quo during the pendency of this action, the court will essentially speak for the mute swans" by extending the ban.

The DNR attorneys argue that delaying the hunt will cause "irreparable harm" to the aquatic grasses in the Chesapeake Bay area. The grasses filter bay water and are habitat for other creatures.

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service issued a permit to the Maryland Department of Natural Resources on August 11 that would allow the taking of up to 525 mute swans this year. Each swan consumes up to eight pounds of underwater grasses per day. They have been labeled an invasive species that will double in number every eight years if left unchecked.

The Chesapeake Bay Foundation also supports the mute swan hunt due to the harm being caused to the fragile ecosystem by this invasive species.

Judge Sullivan originally halted the hunt on August 19 to give himself time to decide whether to grant a permanent injunction sought by the Fund for Animals.

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