Local leader urges action as swans devastate grain crops

Thousands of swans are causing severe damage to grain crops, Eggert Valur Guðmundsson, chair of the municipality of Rangárþing ytra, told mbl.is. He says the problem is worsening and is calling for measures to control the swan population.

Guðmundsson said he lives next to a grain field and has seen swans destroy crops. He estimated that sowing a field costs a farmer about 200,000 Icelandic krónur, and said most farmers who grow grain have at least 10 hectares under cultivation.

His son-in-law, a farmer with about 10 to 14 hectares of cropland, has lost his entire grain crop, Guðmundsson said. The swans return despite attempts to keep them away.

Guðmundsson said he had no simple solution, but suggested temporarily allowing swans to be shot or puncturing their eggs. He said he did not know whether either approach would work, but described the birds as causing substantial damage.

He rejected the view of Fuglavernd, a bird conservation organisation, that some crop losses caused by swans should be factored into agricultural budgets. “I cannot see how having to throw away everything you sow can be part of an operating plan,” he said.

Guðmundsson said farmers do not want swans eradicated, but that ways must be found to keep their numbers in check. He also called on Bændasamtökin, the farmers’ association, to examine the issue seriously. Scarecrows or sounds to deter the birds could also be tried, he said.