It's not quite as serious as the myth suggests.
Today, you can no longer be hanged for catching and eating a swan, but it’s still a criminal offence
Killing a Swan is not quite as serious as the myth suggests.
Until 1988, it was treasonous to kill and eat Mute swans, as they were still deemed the property of the British Crown
Since the 12th century, the Crown has held the right to ownership over all wild, unmarked mute swans in open water.
"However, the Queen only exercises her right over parts of the Thames and its tributaries.
Killing a swan is therefore an attack on the monarch's property
Killing them without permission could incur an unlimited fine, six months imprisonment or both.
Bewick Swan is more compact than either the mute or whooper swan, with a much shorter neck. The yellow patch on its black beak is also confined to the base of the bill. The name honours the 18th-century English natural-history writer, Thomas Bewick. The species was once a regular winter visitor as far south as the Severn Estuary, where Peter Scott established a Wildfowl and Wetlands Trust reserve at Slimbridge, partly to protect and study this Russian migrant. Climate change has meant Bewick’s swans now seldom leave continental Europe and the British population has much declined as a result.
Wildlife Act 1981 birds are protected by law
Fact file
