Did you know that swan hunting is legal in some parts of Canada? My journey into swan property law began when I reviewed a 1592 case by Edward Coke, The Case of Swans, in which he represented Elizabeth I. As is well known, this case confirms the general principles concerning the ownership of wild animals and confirms the monarch`s rights over unmarked swans. It was created when Dame Joan Young and Thomas Saunger were ordered by the Sheriff of Dorset to hunt 400 vaguely unmarked swans from Dorset`s rivers because the Queen, Elizabeth I, wanted to take possession of them.[2] Young and Saunger tried to argue that the swans belonged to them. The right to these swans was previously held by the local abbot of St Peter`s Abbey, Abbotsbury, an order of Benedictine monks. It may seem unusual for monks to have rights to swans, but the description of the monk in the general prologue to Chaucer`s Canterbury Tales suggests that this was not uncommon: after asking the troublemakers where the swans were, they confessed to killing two swans and hiding the birds where they fell. The officers took the birds and ticketed the poachers. “As such, this means that seizing or killing a swan could amount to theft and its injury could amount to criminal harm (both crimes against swans have been successfully prosecuted in recent years).” Many people will insist that attempts to kill and eat one of the queen`s swans are an act of treason. It remains illegal to eat swans in England, but for different reasons than in the past. Mute swans are protected as “wild birds” under the Wildlife and Country Act 1981 (United Kingdom) and it remains a criminal offence to kill, injure or take a wild bird or to take, disturb or destroy the eggs of a wild bird. [23] The only person who has probably been able to eat swan in England is the Queen, but this is simply because she enjoys sovereign immunity, not because of a deeper principle. [24] The only private “individuals” who own tagged swans today are the Dyers Company and the Vintners Company. They still make annual ascents of the swan with the Queen on the Thames, but now for reasons of swan protection. [14] “I received a complaint that someone had shot several swans in the swamps of the Sturgeon River,” Smith said.
The brothers admitted to killing two trumpeter swans and storing the birds where they fell, officials said. BARAGA COUNTY, Michigan Two brothers were caught poaching a pair of swans allowed to be illegally hunted in Michigan`s Upper Peninsula, Department of Natural Resources officials said. The commission said: “Killing one of the Queen`s hunchbacked swans may be illegal, but it has never been an act of treason.” Each year, the swan ceremony is performed by the Crown and companies to capture and mark all swans in the area. Trumpeter swans are waterfowl protected by the state and federal government and are allowed to be hunted illegally, the DNR said. Taking illegal waterfowl is a misdemeanor and can be punished with up to 90 days in jail and/or up to $500 for restitution. Two brothers from the Upper Peninsula could go to jail after illegally killing two trumpeter swans, the Michigan Department of Natural Resources reported. However, with swans, it is possible to mark them, and in fact, English swan owners began putting “markings” on the beaks of wild swans (called cigninota in Latin) in the 13th century after the king granted them the right to do so. In 1361, Thomas de Russham was charged by the king with “the surveillance and custody of all our swans, as well as in the waters of the Thames as elsewhere in our kingdom.” After that, the king had an officer who was the game master of the Swan King (also known as the Royal Swannerd or Royal Swan-Master). A declaration in the years 1405 to 1406 stated that only the king had the right to assign swan stamps.
Until then, the possession of swans was subject to customary law. According to the Parliament`s Legal Affairs Committee, the illegal slaughter of one of the Queen`s swans is not treason, but it will be punishable by a heavy penalty. Taxpayers are paying for the killing of mute swans, even though wildlife officials admit the program is not sustainable. It is time to stop the killings and consider real scientific research. Re: “They may seem serene, but humpback swans are tyrants”, September 24 The official registration of swan tags became a practice at this time. Other codes and regulations have been published on who should own swans and swans in certain areas. As The Case of the Swans notes, only the monarch could claim unmarked mute swans, although the monarch also had some of his own signs.