Posted on 07/06/2024 5:38:50 AM PDT by Libloather
To save the imperiled spotted owl from potential extinction, US wildlife officials are embracing a contentious plan: hire trained sharp-shooters to assassinate its rivals.
The US Fish and Wildlife Service strategy released Wednesday is meant to prop up declining spotted owl populations in Oregon, Washington state and California.
Trained shooters will be deployed to the dense forests of the West Coast forests to kill almost a half-million barred owls that are crowding out their endangered cousins.
Documents released by the agency show up to about 450,000 barred owls would be shot over three decades — a solution designed to level the playing field after this invasive species of owl from the eastern US encroached into western territory.
Both of the Pacific coast's smaller native owls, the northern spotted owls and California spotted owls, have proven unable to compete with the invading barred owls, which breed in larger numbers and need less room to survive.
Past efforts to save spotted owls focused on protecting the forests where they live, sparking bitter fights over logging but also helping slow the birds' decline.
The proliferation of barred owls in recent years is undermining that earlier work, officials said.
'Without actively managing barred owls, northern spotted owls will likely go extinct in all or the majority of their range, despite decades of collaborative conservation efforts,' said Fish and Wildlife Service Oregon state supervisor Kessina Lee.
But the notion of killing one bird species to save another has divided wildlife advocates and conservationists.
It's reminiscent of past government efforts to save West Coast salmon by killing sea lions and cormorants that prey on the fish, and to preserve warblers by killing cowbirds that lay eggs in warbler nests.
(Excerpt) Read more at dailymail.co.uk ...
Just plain stupid. This supposed “invasion” was Mother Nature at work....likely precipitated by an increase in the rodent population.
Yes, let’s interfere with nature. What could go wrong? Where’s PETA when you “need” them? Oh, yeah, stealing puppies from homeless people...
What kind of other imbalances are they creating by eliminating these owls? Any concerns for a drastic increase in the local rodent populations?
This might make a great test case for the Chevron ruling. Can yo imagine them sending people with rifles al over the state to shoot owls?
Can you imagine the type of people willing to do it?
I’m sure Deep State has those on standby.
Abd if Deep State should run short, there’s always the Capitol PD.
This is about parasites aka free lance hunters n snipers getting Federal paychecks for mass killing owls. Hopefully there is a uproar against this mass murder of a beautiful species. We have owls where I live. Small burrowing owls.
Meanwhile, just checked.
PETA doesn’t give a hoot.
Quelle suprise.
The spotted owl issue is a hoax. One nested in a traffic circle in Everett and had to be removed to a more appropriate area.They are just putting men with rifles all over the state after Ferguson eliminated the residency requirement for voting.
Man is an arrogant idiot.
I agree. Someone needs to put a stop on this.
The Left is only “Darwinian” when it serves their purposes, such as degrading God and His people.
Hope those states enjoy rodents, cause they are in for quite the increase.
For 50 years they blamed the logger and now the truth comes out with this insane plan. How do you hunt owls in the middle of a dense forest?
But, then again, maybe they do and it's not going to be good for any of us. :(
Going to war against nature to save it. This demonstrates the hubris of the conservationist who knows better than nature how it should be managed. Perhaps it is time for the spotted owl to become an extinct species. It happens to all species sooner or later.
Trying to control nature using the same philosophy they use to control the economy.
Unless the spotted owls are being starved by the barred owls, the barred owls should be free to proliferate.
This is why overturning Chevron was a good thing. Some bureaucrat has deemed the “endangered” spotted owl the species that must survive at all costs. They will now hunt and kill its natural rivals. Our government is absolutely insane. End all the regulatory boards now! We have to start over.
>> To save the imperiled spotted owl from potential extinction, US wildlife officials are embracing a contentious plan: hire trained sharp-shooters to assassinate its rivals.
Sweet Jesus, what have we become?
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