Since ancient times, swans have been associated with tranquility and nobility, and appear in myths and stories around the world. Their high status is probably due to their perceived beauty and natural behavior; They are solitary, strong and aggressively protective of their young, but at the same time graceful and elegant on the water. Image of a swan from the British Library, Harley MS 4751, fo. 41v, used with permission from the British Library. The official registration of swan tags became a practice at that time. Other codes and regulations have been published on who should own swans and swans in certain areas. As The Case of the Swans notes, only the monarch could claim unmarked mute swans, although the monarch also had some of his own signs. The only other group of people who are still legally allowed to hunt and eat unmarked Mute Swans are the scholarship recipients of St. John`s College in Cambridge, a privilege granted in the past for royalist support: swan traps remain within the walls of the college. [11] For several decades, swans have been threatened by river pollution, dog attacks, and increasing populations of predators such as red kites and mink. From a Thames population of about 1,300 individuals in the 1960s, the number of bird pairs dropped to just seven pairs in 1985.
But conservation work such as banning toxic lead fishing weights and cleaning up the Thames in recent years appears to be reversing this decline. The traditional call: „All up!“ sounds from one of the skiffs; A female swan and her swans (baby swans) were spotted sliding across the water. The boats maneuver to fence the birds toward shore, where Uppers, as the crew is called, jumps and grabs them, holding the adult`s powerful legs behind her so she can be examined. Birds are counted, weighed and checked for injuries and traces of ownership. Dyeing and winemaking companies use rings to mark their birds, while crown swans are not. Today, the practice serves as a conservation tool to track swan populations and the health of the Thames, but that was once how the Crown exercised control over the swan population along the river. Through this privilege, the British Crown owns all unmarked Mute Swans in open water. However, rights to swans may be granted to a British subject by the Crown (therefore, they may also be claimed by statute of limitations). [1] Ownership of swans in a particular body of water was generally given to landowners until the 16th century. The only entities still exercising these rights are two City of London livery companies. Thus, the ownership of swans in the Thames is divided equally between the Crown, the Winzer Company and the Dyers` Company. As the name suggests, they are the least noisy swans, but by no means mute.
They emit short grunts and whistles. During the breeding season, they sniff short and loud, but do not make the honking flight calls of other species. The only sound is the flapping of the wings. They added that the Queen also does not own all the swans of Britain. Ask the Police explained: „Unmarked wild dumb swans belong to the crown.“ Queen of the United Kingdom; Head of the Commonwealth; defenders of the faith; Commander-in-Chief of the British Armed Forces; Sovereign of the Most Noble Order of the Garter; sovereign of the oldest and noblest Order of the Thistle; all titles of Elizabeth II. Not included in this illustrious list is one of their least common, the Swan Lord, a remnant of a time when royal birds (literally) designated class, wealth and status. The strange and ancient relationship between the swan and the British crown manifests itself to this day in a tradition known as „Swan Upping“. […] Katy Barnett, „The Ownership of Swans in English History: Does the Queen Own All the Swans?“ on Legal History Miscellany (18. May 2020) legalhistorymiscellany.com/2020/05/18/does-the-queen-own-all-the-swans/amp/; […] The only private „individuals“ who now possess tagged swans are the Dyers Company and the Vintners Company. They still make annual ascents of the swan with the Queen on the Thames, but now for reasons of swan protection.
[14] It has been decided that all white swans who have won their natural freedom and swim in an open and ordinary river can be placed at the disposal of the king by his prerogative, because these volatilia (quae sunt ferae naturae) aka sunt regalia, alia communia: [`because chickens that are wild in nature are sometimes royal, sometimes ordinary`] and therefore aquatilium, alia sunt regalia, alia communia: [because waterfowl are sometimes royal and sometimes common“] as a swan is a royal fowl; and all those whose possession is not known belong to the king by his privilege: and so whales and sturgeons are royal fish, and belong to the king by his privilege.
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