Vantressa Brown: Do they really deserve to die?
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) is on the verge of approving a permit for the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Wildlife Services office that would allow the unnecessary slaughter of turkey vultures and black vultures in Virginia. Wildlife Services has requested a permit that would allow the killing of 1,000 black vultures and 300 turkey vultures. Though the USFWS initially balked at granting a permit to kill this many birds, the agency now appears ready to grant the permit.
Wildlife Services claims that vultures threaten human health and damage property. However, a risk to human health has never been documented; in fact, some research suggests that, by eating carrion, vultures may actually help reduce disease risk for humans. Property damage can be greatly reduced through non-lethal preventive means such as removing odorous attractants, installing bird-proof barriers, and through habitat alteration. There is little reason to believe that lethal control would be more effective than non-lethal methods at reducing damage. For example, Wildlife Services sometimes baits vultures in an effort to kill large numbers of birds at once; this practice simply draws in vultures from the surrounding area who were not even responsible for the damage.
Very little reliable data exist about vulture population sizes or the effects of ongoing lethal control on vulture populations. Lethal control may be even more problematic if West Nile Virus begins impacting these raptors. Nevertheless, the past several years have seen a sharp increase in the number of vultures killed by Wildlife Services in Virginia.
Please email, call, or fax the USFWS today and ask them to deny the permit requested by Wildlife Services. Vultures are ecologically important, misunderstood birds that deserve greater tolerance and a non-lethal approach to resolving any conflicts, real or perceived. At a minimum, baiting vultures should not be allowed under the permit, as this would allow much greater numbers of vultures to be easily killed.
If you live in Virginia, please also contact your U.S. Representative and Senators.
Wildlife Services claims that vultures threaten human health and damage property. However, a risk to human health has never been documented; in fact, some research suggests that, by eating carrion, vultures may actually help reduce disease risk for humans. Property damage can be greatly reduced through non-lethal preventive means such as removing odorous attractants, installing bird-proof barriers, and through habitat alteration. There is little reason to believe that lethal control would be more effective than non-lethal methods at reducing damage. For example, Wildlife Services sometimes baits vultures in an effort to kill large numbers of birds at once; this practice simply draws in vultures from the surrounding area who were not even responsible for the damage.
Very little reliable data exist about vulture population sizes or the effects of ongoing lethal control on vulture populations. Lethal control may be even more problematic if West Nile Virus begins impacting these raptors. Nevertheless, the past several years have seen a sharp increase in the number of vultures killed by Wildlife Services in Virginia.
Please email, call, or fax the USFWS today and ask them to deny the permit requested by Wildlife Services. Vultures are ecologically important, misunderstood birds that deserve greater tolerance and a non-lethal approach to resolving any conflicts, real or perceived. At a minimum, baiting vultures should not be allowed under the permit, as this would allow much greater numbers of vultures to be easily killed.
If you live in Virginia, please also contact your U.S. Representative and Senators.
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