Today in weird royal news: someone is after Queen Elizabeth’s swans

The swan holds a unique, special place in English culture. Every year, for instance, there’s a “swan upping ceremony,” where mute swans are gathered up from the Thames, tagged, and released, with the Queen as the “Seigneur of the Swans.” But recently, the Queen’s swans have been under attack. Seriously.

According to the Palace, 12 swans were shot recently and two died because of their injuries. Terrible, right? The avicide — homicide, but for birds —has resulted in a police investigation with local residents involved, The Sun reports. The swans all had bands on their legs that marked them as property of the Queen and have faced injuries including the loss of eyes. There were two separate attacks, which could mean someone is specifically targeting these beautiful animals. But why?!

“I cannot understand what pleasure anyone could possibly get from shooting innocent swans,” Wendy Hermon of the UK charity Swan Support said to The Sun. “They are peaceful and beautiful birds and they trust people who feed them … I am sure her Majesty will be horrified to hear that someone is taking pleasure out of shooting them.”

This isn’t the first time the Queen’s swans have come up against injury by humans NPR reports that in the 1980s pollution almost killed off the animals. After the population recovered, swans were the victims of negligence by fishermen, which caused throat lacerations. There have also been reports of these swans being butchered for meat — which historically is a huge no-no, as only royalty have been allowed to eat swan. In 2015, the number of swans dropped from the year previous year according to the Swan Upping census, a fall attributed to air rifle shootings.

Our thoughts are with Queen Elizabeth II and her beloved swans. Of all the things.