Mama swan Faye and her four cygnets
Three New York ‘teens’ were arrested for killing a beloved mama swan named Faye and taking her four babies.
The pond is home to where “generations of town-owned swans have lived since 1905” according to The New York Post.
The teens took the swan from a pond in Manlius, cooked it and ate it for dinner.
According to police, the teens, ages 16, 17, and 18, thought the swan was a large duck before they killed it and took it home.
The oldest suspect was identified as Eman Hussan.
Eman Hussan was all smiles as police took him into custody.
Eman Hussan
“All three suspects were charged with grand larceny in the third degree, a class D felony, criminal mischief in the second degree, a class D felony, conspiracy in the fifth degree, a class B misdemeanor and criminal trespass in the third degree, a class A misdemeanor.” CNYCentral reported.
CNYCentral reported:
Three teenage friends reportedly hopped the fence of the pond between midnight and 3 a.m. Sunday night into Monday and held female swan Faye down while she was nesting.
Faye was killed at the swan pond according to police. The teenagers said they thought Faye was a wild large duck and decided to go “hunting.”
“They did not know that it was a swan, and they did not know that it was not a wild animal, that it was actually owned by the Village of Manlius,” Manlius Police Sgt. Ken Hatter said.
They took the swan back to one of their residences on Syracuse’s Northside and reportedly cooked and ate the swan.
They also took the four cygnets from the pond but intended to keep them and raise them as pets.
More on this story from ABC 9 Syracuse: