Three Buckinghamshire men charged with killing 29 swans entered no pleas when they appeared in court.
The men, all from Chesham, were charged under the Wildlife and Countryside Act with intentional killing of mute swans.
Counsel representing Stephen Barrett, 38, Marcus Walker, 51, and his brother Darren Walker, 47, asked Bedfordshire Magistrates for more time.
Stephen Barrett has also been charged with firearms offences. The hearing has been adjourned until 13 March.
The mute swans, which had all been shot, were found in October buried in a freshly dug pit 10ft from the water at Radwell Lake in Radwell, Bedfordshire.
The lake, owned by the Walker brothers, was purpose-built for legal shoots and at certain times of the area it is legal to shoot water fowl.
Muthupandi Ganesan, defending, asked for more time for the defence to consult experts before any of the defendants enter a plea.
The three men have been granted unconditional bail.
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