Brighton council has changed its mind when it comes to asking senior government to allow “population control” measures to control the numbers of Mute Swans in and around Presquile Bay.
In March council supported a motion to push for egg-oiling and other measures to bring the swan’s population down after an expert delegation said they were destroying the bay’s habitat and chasing other species out of the area, saying there were about 1,000 of the big birds around the bay.
Mayor of Brighton Brian Ostrander said council received two delegations Monday who presented evidence that habitat destruction was mostly the fault of humans, not the swans.
“You had scientific data on one side, scientific data on the other. At the end of the day I think council just thought let’s just leave well enough alone. The bay is under federal jurisdiction anyway so let’s just leave it up to the federal government to figure out.”
A petition with 647 names was presented to council asking that council reverse its previous decision.
Quinte News’ story from March can be seen here.
Monday’s delegation information can be found here.
