People might think I don’t understand swan hunting because I live in the city. No, I grew up in rural Virginia. We usually had deer meat in our freezer and venison jerky for snacking. But I looked and didn’t find any recipes on the swan hunters’ Facebook page.
I know people in the country kill animals for other reasons, as well. Down South they hunt wild boar, and not just because they’re destructive animals. A wild boar might kill the hunter. But swans don’t provide that sort of challenge. Other wild animals endanger livestock, e.g., Utah’s imaginary wolves. But I don’t think swans are swooping down and carrying off lambs. Not without talons, they’re not. I’m sure some hunters enjoy shooting moving targets that are difficult to hit. Ducks, I suppose. But the tundra swan has a wingspan of seven feet, one foot more than the height of my refrigerator. Probably hitting a flying refrigerator would be a step up from the barn-door level of marksmanship, but is it something to brag about?
Anyway, sure it’s a lot of fun to get out in nature and stalk wild animals. A photograph would make a fine trophy, if it were just about bragging rights. But, no, that’s not the same as spotting a creature of indescribable beauty and killing it. Then you feel that godlike power of life and death over nature. Then you take something free and wild and make it your own — before you throw it away.
Robert Argenbright, Salt Lake City
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