Lou Maieron admits to feeding a swan on his property and even to placing the bird in a cage for several days, but insists he has done nothing wrong and that the swan can leave at any time.
“There’s nothing here restraining him from leaving,” he said during a Jan. 15 News conference at his Erin fish farm.
Maieron, a Wellington County councillor and owner of Silver Creek Aquaculture, was charged with unlawful possession of a migratory bird after an Environment Canada officer visited his farm last June.
But he is challenging the charge and $180 fine, calling the law “ridiculous” and “a complete waste of taxpayers’ money.”
The swan in question, which Maieron has nicknamed Brutus, arrived “unannounced and uninvited” about four or five years ago looking dirty and malnourished, he explained. He fed the bird corn and seed – and continues to do so in winter months – and it has also developed a taste for fish food.
“What should I have done, let it die?” Maieron asked.
But in warmer months Brutus has to find his own food, which Maieron said is not a problem considering the swan can fly a considerable distance. Brutus is not the first swan to visit Maieron’s property, though he has stayed the longest.
“This guy’s free to go anytime he wants. He can fly,” he said. “He’s decided to adopt us, I guess.”
Maieron admits to luring the swan, which he calls “part of the family,” into a cage and leaving it there for several days – on more than one occasion. However, he says the move has become an effective deterrent to keep Brutus out of several ponds housing fish small enough for him to eat.
“I don’t want to shoot him,” Maieron said.
He acknowledged his chances of winning the case may not be good, but said he welcomes publicity because the case could open other fish farmers to legal headaches whenever migratory birds stop on their properties and eat their fish.
He is also angered by what he calls the “conspiracy” which led the Environment Canada officer to his property in the first place. According to Maieron, a Ministry of Natural Resources inspector visiting the property in early 2009 for an unrelated issue saw Brutus and passed on the information to Environment Canada officials.
“That really upsets me,” he said. He added he was issued a temporary permit for the bird, but wondered what the big deal is, since swans can be purchased freely by anyone at an auction.
His neighbour, Peter Hope, agreed and said his own family was “absolutely disgusted” when they heard about the charge. Hope wondered if the case would open the door to charging anyone who owns a bird feeder.
“I guess we’re breaking the law, too – just like everybody in Canada is,” he said of his own family members, who enjoy watching birds at the family’s feeder.
“Where does this stop?”
Hope called Maieron’s property like “heaven” for a swan, and said the charge against his neighbour is “absolutely ludicrous,” considering federal authorities also sell licences to kill migratory birds.
Maieron said he is unsure what would happen to Brutus if he loses his legal battle.
He called the whole situation “a farce” but said he refuses to pay the $180 ticket.
“It’s about the principle,” he said. Maieron will be back in court on Feb. 16.
