PHOTO BY JIM HOBART
The City of Orlando’s captive swan program at Lake Eola Park has remained in limbo for more than two months after it was abruptly paused this spring. And while the program may not have any official oversight and funding from the City at the moment, the city’s iconic Lake Eola is still home to a number of swans that have not yet been relocated to their new home, with video circulating on social media showing swans struggling with untreated leg injuries and a hands-off approach from parks staff that critics say is leaving the birds worse off.
The city “paused” the program in early May, initially citing avian flu concerns and the upcoming Lake Eola Park Master Plan construction. Orlando Shine later reported that a parks staff presentation pointed to a more direct cause: the cost of meeting Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission standards for the program “the right way,” which had an estimated price tag of over $333,000 a year.
Since the pause, the city has stopped public feeding and general care of the swans and has been sending birds, mostly mated pairs, chicks and eggs, to an FWC-licensed breeder, Travis Williams of Williams Exotic Waterfowl (Facebook). That removal effort was paused after video circulated showing the distress caused by separating mated pairs during the piecemeal removal process. Williams also shared some criticisms of the overall health of the birds he had received, saying two swans were completely blind in both eyes, and several others were blind in one eye. He also shared that most of the swans were underweight, likely from parasites.
More recently, video has surfaced of swans with apparent leg injuries appearing unable to move. Or at least moving with considerable difficulty.
Orlando Shine reached out to the City last week to ask about the current protocol for handling an injured swan at the park given the paused program oversight, why the injured swan in the video was left untreated for so long, and why full removal of the remaining birds had stalled for months.
According to the City, the current protocol for a sick swan is for the public (and parks staff) to call 311, since the city has no veterinarian on staff or on retainer and the swan program itself is on hold. The city also said the relocation was taking more time than expected, as it turned out whooper and trumpeter swans, two species with heightened levels of protections, can only be rehomed through a narrow category of licensed facilities that has been difficult to find.
City staff also said that one of the injured swans featured in the recent videos, a male whooper, has had a longstanding foot issue that predates the program’s pause, and that the bird does not have a quality-of-life problem and simply lives with the disability.
Andrew Marshall, the park’s former swan docent, said in an interview that the male swan’s condition worsened quickly after his mate was removed due to her own leg injury, which he attributes to what he calls unsafe and unsanitary infrastructure at the lake. Marshall, who runs a non-profit called Friends of a Feather (Website) with his wife that cares for the health needs of non-native waterfowl in and around downtown Orlando, said he emailed the city on July 5 asking that the male swan, named Spade, receive treatment for a limp linked to a history of bumblefoot, a foot condition Marshall also attributes to the lake’s infrastructure, as it is caused by bacteria entering the sof ttissue of the foot through a cut or scrape, usually caused by walking on rough, artifical surfaces. He said the city didn’t bring the bird in for care until about a week later, after several people sent photos and video showing the swan unable to walk.
According to Marshall, injured swans are usually taken to Mayfair Veterinary Hospital, which specializes in treating cats and dogs and cannot house birds long-term, before being transferred to Bill Frederick Park, which he said also has inadequate housing for the birds. Marshall said park staff are not equipped to recognize how these conditions affect the swans’ quality of life, arguing that a bird with tattered feathers who is unable to walk is a clear sign of poor welfare.
By Friday, the city told Orlando Shine its timeline had accelerated again. Fencing was expected to go up in the park before noon, and the City said it planned to remove all swans from the park over the weekend. The whooper and trumpeter swans would likely have to stay at the lake until the city identifies a properly licensed new home for them, in line with FWC guidelines, but they were still waiting to hear from a specialized veterinarian at the time of this post.
Orlando Shine will continue to follow this story as the city’s plans develop and are made public.
