Government workers killed a plan to execute 2,500 menacing mute swans living in the state — and will instead wipe them out through birth control.
The State Department of Environmental Conservation wants to eradicated the bacteria-spreading breed by 2025, and originally planned to gun down or gas the birds.
The new plan, which was announced Friday, could include methods like painting their eggs with oil to keep them from hatching.
The decision came after the DEC received more than 16,000 letters, almost all of them from angry bird lovers.
More than 30,000 people also signed petitions.
“The big victory is that they’re not going to slaughter the swans of Sheepshead Bay,” crowed Assemblyman Steven Cymbrowitz.
“Sheepshead Bay wouldn’t be the same without the mute swans,” he said.
“They’re synonymous with grace and beauty. Yes, they may hiss sometimes, but this is New York, so they’re entitled.
With its new plan, he said, “The DEC wants to make sure their are no baby swans being born.’’
The agency says that the swans not only annoy people, but destroy aquatic plants and chase out other species — like ducks.
They can also bring down planes.
DEC Commissioner Joe Martens said the swans are an “invasive, non-native’’ species. The intruders were brought from Europe and Asia in the 1800s as lawn and pond ornaments.
But Cymbrowitz noted, “Our community is one of immigrants.
“We welcome the swans, who came here more than 100 years ago.”
Janelle Barbash, of the group Save Our Swans, noted that 41 per cent of the state’s swans died between 2000 and 2004, many as a result of Hurricane Sandy.
“There is no proof that our swans have eaten other birds out of house and home, nor is there proof that our swans have ever hurt anyone,” she insisted.
After making New York their home for so long, “they deserve a seat at the table,’’ she said.
David Karopkin, of Goosewatch NYC, accused the state agency of “bad science.”
“For them to have painted the entire state with the same brush, doesn’t make a lot of sense,” he said.
The DEC will announce its new draft plan in April detailing its new plans for getting rid of the birds.
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