Posted on 01/21/2011 5:54:23 AM PST by Fawn
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 frozen to death. But they were actually poisoned on purpose, by the US Department of Agriculture.
Many of the European Starlings discovered by a passerby, were laying on the ground or frozen in trees. Officials first thought the birds were late to migrate and froze to death during the recent cold spell.
But that theory changed after Yankton police received a phone call from a USDA official who said the birds had been poisoned.
"They say that they had poisoned the birds about ten miles south of Yankton and they were surprised they came to Yankton like they did and died in our park," says Yankton Animal Control Officer Lisa Brasel.
The USDA confirms the story, saying the deaths were part of a large killing at a private feed lot in Nebraska.
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.
"We're doing it to address, in this case, agricultural damage as well as the potential for human health and safety issues," says Carol Bannerman USDA Wildlife Services.
USDA officials say they regret they had to kill the birds. But say there's no toxic concern to people or animals.
In all, officials estimate nearly 2,000 birds ate the poison. However, since the bait has been removed they don't expect any more birds to die
“People suck.”
Government people suck the most.
Yes.. other carrion-eating animals will die, too.
G-D’d government.
That must be a weird sight...............
I wonder how PETA feels about this? EPA?
They would be going berzerk if this was the Bush Admin.
Very interesting. Thanks for posting. Whatever happened to scarecrows? Bureaucrats running amok.
So this is the answer to the bird deaths in AR, LA, etc? No wonder the government types were giving such tortured, far-fetched explanations as to the occurrences. I’d like to know how they killed the fish in AR, too.
And just suppose someone’s cat or dog were to eat one of these poisoned birds. It’s bad enough that wild animals have to get sick or die with the USDA poisonings.
????..........
Starlings are rats with wings. They can completely strip an area of foodstuff for other animals in a matter of minutes.
If human poo transplants are good for humans, maybe dinosaur poo transplants are good for cattle.
How many of those birds filled with poison defecated in the farmers feedbins before heading to Yankton?
They are just pinin’ for the fjords.
poisoning pigeons in the park
Different species of feces.................
The thousands of dead doves in from Sweden to Italy were believed to have either got caught in an updraft powerful enough to force them HIGH enough for suffocation....or to have been poisoned. I just googled, and it seems the bodies are still being tested.
Obama kills birdies.
Around my area, they need to do this with Canadian Geese.
Problem: Too many seagulls.
Government answer...Place poison laced bread in nests with young gulls. Mom eats bread and later dies while on the nest,thus also doing in the young ones.
PROBLEM arises when adult gulls start dropping out of the air and hitting cars etc. etc.
Government at work creating unintended results...Advantage autobody and windshield repair shops
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