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Mute swans, which Maryland is trying to eradicate from the Chesapeake Bay, are not being killed with bolt cutters, a lawyer with the Maryland Attorney General's Office said in a letter last week.

Instead, the Department of Natural Resources uses a device called an emasculatome, which has long handles and short pincers.

Washington lawyer Erik Jaffe wrote Attorney General Douglas F. Gansler (D) earlier this month asking him to examine the mute swan program. Jaffe believed an eyewitness account, provided in his letter, showed that DNR was violating Maryland's own animal cruelty laws.

Someone claiming to be an eyewitness said the swans were rounded up, placed in sacks, beaten, and then their necks were cut off with instruments resembling bolt cutters.

"No bolt cutters are used, and live mute swans are neither placed in bags or beaten. Thus, the allegations in your letter are not supported by the facts," wrote Joseph P. Gill, assistant attorney general, in a letter dated June 19.

"We certainly wish the Attorney General's Office had done more than what appears to be a cursory review," said Jaffe, who represents the Migratory Bird Treaty Act Advocates.

Gill's letter says DNR follows American Veterinary Medical Association guidelines on euthanasia.