Three teenagers in rural upstate New York have been arrested for killing and eating a swan they mistook for a large duck as a family, according to local police.
This swan, a female named Faye and known in this area of Syracuse, was killed during the last long weekend of "Memorial", which celebrates veterans in the United States, said the police of the town of Manlius, hundreds of miles north of New York City.
The three young people aged 16, 17 and 18 are accused by the police of vandalism and theft. They are accused of stealing swans from Faye and her four cubs to make pets, police Sergeant Kenneth Hatter told local press on Tuesday.
Mistaken for a very large duck
The swans were soon found safe and sound but their mother was much less lucky. "Family and friends ate the swan they mistook for a very large duck," said Officer Hatter, acknowledging that the three youths "did not know that (this bird) was not a wild animal and that it belonged to the village of Manlius".
Swans are a symbol of this town of 4,600 souls since they took up residence, in the early twentieth century, on the small ponds of the town. "It's sad," Mayor Paul Whorrall was quoted as saying by local media. "It's like losing a family member."