United Poultry Concerns, Inc.
PO Box 150, Machipongo, VA 23405-0150
Phone: 757-678-7875 • FAX: 757-678-5070
www.upc-online.org • info@upc-online.org

September 7, 2020

Eric Pain, Greenwood Lake Commission
Via Email: Eric.Pain@dep.nj.gov

Dear Mr. Pain,

I am writing to you on behalf of United Poultry Concerns in response to an alert we received from the Animal Protection League of New Jersey (APLNJ) regarding two mute swan families currently living on the 9-mile Greenwood Lake in Passaic County.

It seems there’s a conflict between these swan families and jet skiers who’ve been upsetting the swans by swinging in close to them for years, yet apparently no summonses have ever been issued by local law enforcement.

We share APLNJ’s concern that these swans are being harassed by the jet skiers and that the USDA’s Wildlife Services have been called in by the NJ Department of Environmental Protection to, in all likelihood, kill the swans as a “solution” to a problem that can and should be resolved peaceably.

We respectfully request that a peaceable solution be implemented instead of a violent “solution” of killing these swans who are simply trying to protect themselves and their families from the intrusion and harassment of the jet skiers. The covid-19 epidemic reportedly exacerbated the problem this year, as more out-of-town renters populated the lake area.

We join with APLNJ in urging you please to cancel your request to bring in USDA Wildlife Services. We understand that now that the jet skier season is over, volunteers and others can implement peaceable approaches to the conflict that respect the swans’ effort simply to live and raise their families quietly on the lake in the years ahead. We hope you agree.

Thank you for your consideration. We look forward to your response and hope for good news.

Sincerely,

Karen Davis, PhD
President
United Poultry Concerns
12325 Seaside Road, PO Box 150
Machipongo, VA 23405
Office: 757-678-7875
Email: Karen@UPC-online.org

Copied to Animal Protection League of New Jersey

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See: Eric Pain's response to this email.

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