My Heart Hurts Upon Hearing...

How could they not know the difference between a swan and a duck.  They have identification books that can help, people! 

Three Teens Killed and Ate a New York Village’s Beloved Swan, Police Say

The teenagers told the police that they thought the swan 

was a “very large duck,” and were not aware of the significance 

of swans to the village of Manlius.

------------------------

Officials said that just after midnight on Saturday, the teenagers hopped over a fence encircling Goose Lake Park. Faye was nesting by Manlius Swan Pond at the time. Two of the teenagers held her down to capture her, and then the three killed her, Sergeant Hatter said. The teenagers also stole four live cygnets, or baby swans, leaving Manny, Faye’s longtime mate, behind.

The three then took the birds to the home of one of the teenagers’ relatives, where, the police said, the swan was prepared and eaten with family and friends.

Assimilation classes now! 

It was unclear why the teenagers decided to eat Faye.

“It wasn’t because they were lacking in food,” Sergeant Hatter said. “They were hunting.”

The celebrity chef Mario Batali told Esquire in 2011 that he had once eaten a swan and said “it was delicious,” describing the meat as “deep red, lean, lightly gamy, moist and succulent.”

After the teenagers learned about the significance of the swans from the police, Sergeant Hatter said, they appeared to have “reflected on that and realized that it was wrong.”

He said that the teenagers had told the police that they had planned to keep two of the cygnets to raise them and keep them as pets.