A federal plan to let hunters shoot trumpeter swans has drawn fire from some of the people who toiled to bring the majestic white birds back from the brink of extinction. Trumpeter swans have made a comeback thanks to efforts to reintroduce them. Now the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is working on a plan aimed at letting hunters shoot them in states that allow the hunting of tundra swans, a more numerous species.
Officials say no state is proposing a hunting season for trumpeter swans. But they acknowledge the proposal opens up the possibility. Brad Bortner with the Fish and Wildlife Service says the plan is mostly designed to protect hunters in Montana, North Dakota, South Dakota, North Carolina and Virginia who mistake a trumpeter swan for a tundra swan.