Lake Garda Swans Trafficking Busted in Undercover Operation

They used to steal swans to resell them. On Lake Garda, a new, unsuspected reality has emerged: the swan trafficking. Carabinieri have indeed caught an elderly fisherman from the southern part of the lake who was storing four young swans sedated in a shed.

With him, at the time of the Arma‘s raid, were his assistant and two residents of Verona, suspected of being the buyers of the swans. All four have been reported to the judicial authorities.

Capture methods and reports

According to an initial reconstruction of the facts, the fisherman would tame the majestic birds by throwing pieces of bread containing sedatives. He would then capture them and bring them to an isolated shed, awaiting the arrival of the buyer.

However, the suspicious movements of the fisherman drew the attention of a couple of young lovers, who, under the moonlight, witnessed the unusual scene. An immediate report was made to the Carabinieri, who caught the four individuals involved.

Swans’ situation in Lake Garda

What is certain is that recently there had been a suspicious decrease in the number of swans present in the Carda (according to a census carried out last year by the Sportello caccia e pesca della Provincia di Broscia). The swans from Benaco numbered between 600 and 700.