January 19, 2017
From PoconoRecord.com
Gunshots echoed across Lake Valhalla Thursday morning. Above the lake in Smithfield Township, a swan flew a short distance before collapsing onto the ice. About 500 feet from the lake-front houses, blood stained the ice.
Someone shot and killed the bird, the male of a mating pair. The species, called “Mute Swans” – mate for life, said Lake Valhalla Association Treasurer Richard Cullin. The swan killed Thursday was the lake’s only male.
A resident who saw the incident told Cullin and identified the hunter.
Cullin said other residents had confronted the same hunter Saturday for firing at ducks on the lake.
“He was on that peninsula, aiming at the swans sitting right there on the ice,” said Cullin. The peninsula extends to the lake’s center, only a few hundred feet from the opposite shore.
State Police were called to the scene Thursday afternoon. Cullin said the Pennsylvania Game Commission confirmed Mute Swans are legal to hunt; however, the community prohibits hunting and has signs posted. Pennsylvania law also prohibits hunting within 450 feet of an occupied residence.