The Case of Swans (1592) Trinity Term, 34 Elizabeth I, is a landmark decision in English property law.

Dame Joan Young (née Joan Wadham, sister and a co-heiress of her brother Nicholas Wadham) and Thomas Saunger received a writ from the Exchequer, directing the Sheriff of Dorset to round up 400 loose swans from the rivers of the county.

[1][2] The right to these swans in Dorset had since time immemorial been held by the local abbot, who lost the right along with the abbey to Henry VIII at the dissolution of the Monasteries.

Henry then granted the estate to Giles Strangways, Dame Joan's deceased first husband, whose heir gave them a right to the swans for one year.

The Court held that the swans that are ferae naturae, or wild animals, cannot be given by transfer or taken by prescription.