Western Minnesota conservation officer seeking info on swans poached in Pope County

Glenwood, Minn. — A western Minnesota DNR conservation officer is seeking information regarding what appears to be the poaching of four trumpeter swans, the breasted-out carcasses of which were left in rural garbage containers in Leven Township in Pope County.

DNR Enforcement CO Andrew Ladzinski, who’s stationed in Glenwood, said he received a call on Monday, Oct. 7, from a rural resident along County Road 30. The resident stated that while in the process of standing up tipped-over containers at the end of his driveway, he discovered two black garbage bags inside – odd, because his garbage bags are white. The resident, while inspecting the bags, felt what he thought might be a discarded deer carcass inside them, then called the CO, Ladzinski said.

The residence is located along County Road 30, between State Highway 29 and the city of Villard, due north of Glenwood.

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When Ladzinski arrived, he opened the two bags and discovered both contained two trumpeter swan carcasses, all four with the breast meat removed. Trumpeters are a protected species in Minnesota; there is no open season.

“I looked in the trash for some identifying information, but couldn’t find any,” the CO said.

He said there appeared to be BB holes in the remains of the birds.

Trumpeters, Ladzinski said, are easily distinguished from Canada geese, the latter being smaller and different in appearance.

“This is intentional, I would believe,” he said.

While the central waterfowl zone was closed on the day Ladzinski received the report, it was open the previous weekend, when it’s likely the birds were shot, he said.

“My best guess is they were shot the 4th (of October) or the 5th,” he said. “They were still pretty fresh.”

Ladzinski said the resident didn’t have trail cameras in the vicinity, and was unable to observe disposal of the carcasses because of the long driveway leading to the residence.

“We’re pretty much at a standstill, unless someone comes forward with information,” he said of the ongoing investigation. A long shot, he said, might be the posting of the birds, post-kill, on social media.

But, he added, it’s occurred in the recent past. A year ago, when Ladzinski was stationed in Bemidji, a deer hunter in a one-deer-limit area posted to Facebook not one, but two images of two deer he’d harvested. He was located afield, attempting to take a third one, Ladzinski said.

Ladzinski said any information regarding the incident can be made by calling 1-800-652-9093 or texting tip411.

Per the Minnesota DNR, the last record of a wild breeding population in Minnesota is from about 1885, and the trumpeter swan was declared extirpated in the state by the mid-1900s.

Minnesota’s swan-reintroduction efforts began in 1966, were expanded in the 1980s, and continued through 2012. The trumpeter swan population and breeding range increased slowly at first, but have continued to build to the point where they currently nest throughout much of Minnesota.