US Government Plans To Murder Half A Million Owls
This is going to be some very difficult news for all the animal lovers out there as it’s been reported that U.S. wildlife officials have put a plan in motion that will see to the deaths of half a million “invasive” American owls. Carried out over three decades, those at the top are saying that it’s a necessary evil to help preserve two native owl species whose homes have been affected due to barred owls moving westward. While this sounds like an insane number, it breaks down to the removal of less than 1 percent of the barred owl population.
Barred Owls
So, how did the barred owls find themselves at the center of this life-or-death mess? Like many other ecological changes made over the last more-than-century, if you trace the root of the problem, it points back to humans.
Barred owls (known as Strix varia) are native to North America, particularly the Eastern side. But, in the early 20th century, they began to immigrate west of the Mississippi River thanks to “human-induced changes.”
The Barred Owls Spread Far
Continuing to shift towards a new home, the birds eventually ended up taking over parts of Washington, Oregon and California, where northern spotted owls (Strix occidentalis caurina) and California spotted owls (Strix occidentalis occidentalis) have long called home.
Thus, the barred owls became an invasive species, with their hold on the West Coast threatening the very lives of these two native birds.
The Spotted Owls Are In Trouble
For one, both the northern spotted owls and California spotted owls are a good deal smaller than the large barred of the East Coast, giving them a harder chance to scavenge for food and beat out the bigger competition. The barred owls and spotted owls have also started mating which has damaged the growth of both of the latter species.
The spotted owls were already facing hardships and a decline in numbers thanks to an uptick in logging that has threatened their homes, making the barred owl infestation all the more dangerous.
Hunters
Still, the idea of wiping out half a million barred owls seems a little extreme. That is until you take a look at the initial plan which was to cull almost half as many.
The plan is still in its early days, with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) reaching its final draft of the strategy on July 3. It’s expected to receive an official confirmation by the end of the year.
As for who will be carrying out the orders of the FWS, guns will fall into the hands of licensed hunters with members of the public unable to pull the trigger on any of the barred owls.
There will also be land boundaries where the invasive owls are allowed to be hunted, with only about half of the areas where the barred and spotted appear together being part of the open season.
Both Spotted And Barred Owls Are Threatened
While, in the eyes of the FWS and preservationists, this seems to be the best and really only way to ensure the survival of the two spotted species, and get a handle on the problem before further steps toward extinction, there are plenty of animal rights activist naysayers who think it’s a little over the top.
And, to be fair, a lot of their worries are understandable as many pointed out how difficult it is to spot the difference in owls, something they fear will lead to the deaths both spotted and barred.
Source: Live Science
