Faye the swan was a beloved figure in Manlius, New York, as she plied the town ponds with her cygnets in tow. Her lineage has delighted residents since 1905.

But to three refugee teens, she looked like a meal.

One day she was simply gone, and once her disappearance was noticed, tips flooded in to police and they eventually arrested 18-year-old Eman Hussan of Syracuse, New York, and two minors, aged 16 and 17, all of whom are natives of Myanmar and attend high school in the area.

They had killed the beauty—who did not fight back because she was nesting—and took it home, where they and their families ate it. It seems unlikely they didn’t know it was a crime: “I just don’t know how if you were from the area you wouldn’t see the fences or the ‘no fishing’ signage,” Manlius Police Sgt. Ken Hatter said.

Their excuses just don’t pass the smell test. Hatter continued:

They believed it was just a very large duck. They did not know it was a swan. They said they thought it was wild and were unaware it belonged to the village.

They did not have any idea of the significance that the swans had on this community.

The death leaves another swan, Manny, without his mate:

Manny is the only swan at the pond in the village of Manlius. Swans have a long history there – dating back more than 100 years. I spoke with the mayor about their history and what is being done to ensure their history for years to come. https://t.co/mMzbPhDLdG pic.twitter.com/IGsyyIAY5H

— Iris St. Meran (@IrisOnTV) May 31, 2023

Meanwhile, almost 9,000 people have signed a petition demanding that “authorities bring about the highest charges possible” to the three perpetrators. The person who started the petition, Chelsey Williams, was not buying their excuses either:

So let’s get this straight they thought it was okay to jump a fence to an enclosed area in a community to ‘hunt’ at 12-3am while the mother swan was nesting with her young, and one has a hunters license ?! [sic] But doesn’t know the difference between a duck and a swan, this is all just excuses and not acceptable.

The teens also birdnapped Faye’s babies, but authorities were able to retrieve them. Two were found at a pet shop, while another two were found at a residence where it appears the boys may have planned on raising them as pets.

Manlius mayor Paul Whorrall promised at a press conference that the town would care for them:

This is not ending. We will continue to have swans. We’ll let the four cygnets grow up and at that point, we are hoping that two of those cygnets will mate and we will be back to the way it used to be.

One of the suspects seems to think the whole thing is funny, smirking and mugging for the cameras as he is led to a squad car:

MANLIUS SWANS: This is Eman Hussan (18) being arrested yesterday by Manlius Police for killing and eating the local Swan Mama Faye and stealing her four babies.

His 16 and 17-year-old friends also facing charges. #news #newsroom #newsfeed #AnimalCruelty #AnimalRights pic.twitter.com/Dbi63aGJMK

— That Guy Shane (@ProfanityNewz) June 1, 2023

What he probably doesn’t find funny is that the three were charged with felony grand larceny and criminal mischief and now face the risk of deportation. Signatories to the petition didn’t find it humorous either, writing things like, “This was a heinous act by kids who don’t have or never have had discipline,” and, “These inhumane degenerates need to face real consequences,”

This is not the only recent crime of this nature. In February, two suspected illegal immigrants from Honduras shot and killed a bald eagle in Nebraska and had plans on eating it, but were arrested by police who noticed a “suspicious vehicle.”

This story is a metaphor for America in 2023. https://t.co/o6lMDnmhYt

— J.D. Vance (@JDVance1) March 4, 2023

It stretches credulity to imagine that in both these cases the perps didn’t know what they were doing was illegal. They likely did know, but just didn’t care.