{"id":11907,"date":"2025-06-24T22:48:09","date_gmt":"2025-06-24T22:48:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/11907\/"},"modified":"2025-06-24T22:48:09","modified_gmt":"2025-06-24T22:48:09","slug":"nyc-bandits-kidnap-swan-in-bird-brained-scheme-but-mystery-remains-over-its-fate","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/11907\/","title":{"rendered":"NYC bandits kidnap swan in bird-brained scheme, but mystery remains over its fate"},"content":{"rendered":"

Four people were caught on video awkwardly bird-napping a massive swan in Queens \u2014 as activists fear the missing bird may have met its end as an animal sacrifice or because of a a senior prank. <\/p>\n

The four \u2014 including one minor \u2014 were busted after snatching the mute female swan Saturday at Frank M. Charles Memorial Park in Howard Beach, according to US Park Police.<\/p>\n

Authorities didn\u2019t immediately release the names of the alleged bird-brained bandits, but local officials and activists speculate the bird could have met an unsavory fate as some of the birds have ended up on lunch plates in years past.<\/p>\n

A man carrying a large swan out of the Frank M. Charles Memorial Park in Howard Beach, Queens on Saturday evening. Stephanie Santiago<\/p>\n

Four individuals were arrested as a result of the bird-nabbing, according to council member Joann Ariola\u2019s office. Stephanie Santiago<\/p>\n

\u201cThere have been numerous animal sacrifices [in the area], it\u2019s been an ongoing problem,\u201d Edita Birnkrant, executive director of animal advocacy group NYCLASS, said of the various bloody rites carried out at parkland near Jamaica Bay<\/a>. \u201cIt\u2019s possible that could have been the intent.\u201d<\/p>\n

The captured swan also recently had babies, Birnkrant said, and her lifelong mate has been \u201ccalling out in distress\u201d \u2013 making the sick snatching even more fowl.<\/p>\n

Local councilwoman Joann Ariola previously told The Post the chicken, pig and rat sacrifices reached a \u201chigh point\u201d last year,<\/a> but noted in a Tuesday interview that the gruesome practices have dwindled in 2025 after increased police patrols and increased awareness.<\/p>\n

Birnkrant said last weekend\u2019s incident brings to mind a 2023 case in which three upstate New York teens were arrested in connection<\/a> with killing and eating a beloved town swan and stealing four cygnets.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn the past, [swans have] been taken by unhoused people to eat in NYC,\u201d said John Di Leonardo, executive director of Humane Long Island, although he added, \u201cthat doesn\u2019t appear to be the case here.\u201d<\/p>\n

Unlike pigeons<\/a>, \u201cthere\u2019s no market for swans locally, so it\u2019s unlikely [it\u2019s] wildlife trafficking,\u201d he said. Instead, he hypothesized the incident is the result of a \u201ccruel senior prank\u201d since it\u2019s the last week of public school in Howard Beach.<\/p>\n

At least one minor was arrested in connection with the swan snatching, and federal charges are pending. Stephanie Santiago<\/p>\n

\u201cThey\u2019re laughing in the video,\u201d noted Brina Ciaramella, a Howard Beach resident, local attorney and area wildlife rehabilitator. \u201cI don\u2019t know if it was just mischievous kids with no heart that would do something cruel, or if there was a different intent.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ciaramella fears the bird is now dead, with the animals known to get aggressive and be very messy when in captivity.<\/p>\n

Federal charges are pending against the four, officials said.<\/p>\n

Howard Beach resident Stephanie Santiago told The Post the snatched swan\u2019s mate has been pictured looking \u201csad\u201d after Saturday\u2019s theft. Stephanie Santiago<\/p>\n

Ariola credited the quick arrests to videos of the bird-nabbing incident posted online by local resident Stephanie Santiago \u2013 which captured the culprits violently stuffing the bird into a car with Vermont plates. Local Frank Kelly recognized the vehicle while at work at Forest Park on Sunday and called the authorities.<\/p>\n

Kelly is poised to receive a $3,000 reward for the information leading to the four arrests, and plans to take his daughter to Disney World with the earnings, she said.<\/p>\n

Ciaramella said she sadly suspects the swan \u2013 dubbed the \u201cpride of the local community\u201d \u2013 was likely killed due to how aggressive and messy the birds become when they are nervous in captivity. Stephanie Santiago<\/p>\n

I don\u2019t know if it was just mischievous kids with no heart that would do something cruel, or if there was a different intent,\u201d wildlife rehabilitator Brina Ciaramella told The Post. Stephanie Santiago<\/p>\n

Ciaramella pitched more security, signage and even tags on swans to prevent a similar incidents at the federally-owned land in the future, adding that cameras would also help deter further chickens, pigs and rat sacrifices, as well as nighttime tortoise shell poachers that lurk in the region.<\/p>\n

Birnkrant, however, demands stricter enforcement of the laws from the rangers patrolling the parks and additional legislation to protect the city\u2019s wild animals, alleging it\u2019s \u201copen season on the urban wildlife in New York City Parks every day.\u201d <\/p>\n

\u201cIf you come into our beach and you disrespect us as a community, by doing something like abducting a beautiful swan, there\u2019s going to be a penalty to pay,\u201d Ciaramella said, \u201cand we\u2019re going to work together to see it through.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Four people were caught on video awkwardly bird-napping a massive swan in Queens \u2014 as activists fear the…\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":11908,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5122],"tags":[5229,5858,12637,5248,405,403,7619,5226,5225,5228,5227,4413,67,586,132,5230,68,1154,2969],"class_list":{"0":"post-11907","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-new-york","8":"tag-america","9":"tag-animal-abuse","10":"tag-howard-beach","11":"tag-metro","12":"tag-new-york","13":"tag-new-york-city","14":"tag-new-york-city-life","15":"tag-newyork","16":"tag-newyorkcity","17":"tag-ny","18":"tag-nyc","19":"tag-queens","20":"tag-united-states","21":"tag-united-states-of-america","22":"tag-unitedstates","23":"tag-unitedstatesofamerica","24":"tag-us","25":"tag-us-news","26":"tag-usa"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@us\/114740782927657467","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11907","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=11907"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11907\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/11908"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=11907"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=11907"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=11907"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}