|
Normally the only time turkeys make the paper is in November, but this spring photos of wild turkeys appeared in both the Long Island, NY and Spokane, WA newspapers. Both stories involved potential overpopulation and “infestation,” “inbreeding,” or “attacks.” In each instance it was the result of well-intentioned humans manipulating the turkey population.
Washington hunters all over the state have had a bonanza spring turkey season. The State Department of Fish & Wildlife says “Emphasis is swinging from spreading birds across the state...” to “...helping landowners cope with flocks big enough to raise havoc....”
In New York, wild turkeys have escaped from the Boys Ranch into the community. “Obviously it got out of hand,” said the ranch manager. The director of Environmental Conservation suggested rounding them up and euthanizing them for the needy to eat. That brought a passionate response from both sides. It was even too hot for the animal rights groups to get involved.
We do it to ourselves; Canadian geese, kudzu, white-tailed deer, grizzly bear, mountain lions, starlings, wolves, fescue, buffalo. We hunt them to extinction, we import them, we protect them, we euthanize them, we eat them, they eat us, and still we fumble on. It might appear that the best way to manage wildlife to ensure its abundance is to domesticate it!
Salmon, for instance, catfish, rice, sheep, trout, horses, elephants, turkeys, strawberries, and alligators are all found in the wild, but also grown in captivity. Even to the point that you can hunt or fish for your trophy on a game ranch or a stocked stream. Which, I expect in another half millennium, will be how we will solve the contentious problems created by humans moving into wildlife habitat.
But for now, there is still wild country where the presence of humans is transitory. We go to the woods, or the mountains or rivers or plains, fly fish or shoot deer, then return to our urban caves where we eat frozen food and drink out of cans.
From the looks of it, the wild turkey menace will always be lurking beneath the surface as Game & Fish Departments continue to count and relocate, while farmers and homeowners swat and sweep them off their front porch, out of the backyard, or out of City Park.
But every now and then a gobbler will step over the line and later make an appearance in a croissant somewhere...minus his feathers.
Baxter Black is a former large animal veterinarian who can be followed nationwide through this column, National Public Radio, public appearances, television and also through his books, cds, videos and website,
www.baxterblack.com.
|
