Hundreds of birds poisoned by USDA

[deminks]

http://www.ktiv.com/Global/story.asp?S=13865540

YANKTON, S.D. (KTIV) -- It's happened in places like Louisiana, Arkansas and Kentucky. Hundreds of birds mysteriously found dead.

Folks in Yankton, South Dakota, thought they were being added to the list after hundreds of dead birds were found there on Monday. Turns out the unpleasant feathered discovery has a solid explanation. They were poisoned.

Some had thought 200 Starlings found dead in Yankton's Riverside park had froze to death. But they were actually poisoned on purpose, by the US Department of Agriculture.

(snip)

They say a local farmer had been having troubles with about 5,000 starlings defecating in his feed meal. Department of Ag officials say because of health concerns for the farmer's animals and staff they decided to kill the birds.

They used a bait laced with the poison DRC-1339. The USDA says the birds ate the bait then flew back to Yankton and died.

They say poisoning isn't a common practice.

(end snip)

I think I'm going to add them to my list anyway.

[pipoman]

1. These starlings are a menace

and they are not indigenous to this part of the US...I don't believe they are indigenous to the US. They have hurt our native species by their overwhelming numbers. If this were about rats nobody would care much, these English Starlings are the rats of the bird world.

[hootinholler]

2. Plus they carry histoplasmosis at least in the extended Ohio River Valley

Although my case was in Md, technically outside of the Ohio watershed.

-Hoot

[csziggy]

4. Starlings were released in the US in 1890

Although there are approximately 200 million starlings in North America, they are all descendants of approximately 60 birds (or 100 <1>) released in 1890 in Central Park, New York, by Eugene Schieffelin, who was a member of the Acclimation Society of North America reputedly trying to introduce to North America every bird species mentioned in the works of William Shakespeare.<36>

As an introduced species, European Starlings are not protected under the Migratory Bird Treaty Act.<37> Starlings are considered a nuisance species in North America. The birds, which travel in enormous flocks, often pose dangers to air travel, disrupt cattle operations, chase off native birds, and roost on city blocks. They leave behind corrosive droppings and hundreds of millions of dollars of damage every year. In 2008, U.S. government agents poisoned, shot and trapped 1.7 million starlings, more than any other nuisance species.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/European_Starling#North_America

[midnight]

3. Good to know that this is not a common practice of the USDA.

[pipoman]

5. I wish it was more common..