Plans to kill 500,000 owls across three states have drawn widespread criticism from officials, with many arguing such an extreme cull is not only ‘unnecessary’, but also unlikely to address the root problem.
Under the proposals, which were introduced as part of former President Joe Biden’s administration, trained hunters would be dispatched across three US states, California, Oregon and Washington to eliminate barred owls.
The owls, which are native to the eastern part of the continent, have been encroaching on territory of the native spotted owl. Described as ‘better hunters’, the owls have been outhunting their rivals, effectively forcing the spotted owl to go hungry as both species battle for a singular food source.
In order to entice the owls into the firing line, the hunters will play territorial calls to lure the birds out into the open before shooting them.
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However, should the location be unsuitable to discharge a firearm, the birds will instead be captured and humanely euthanised.
Speaking directly about the proposed bill, Republican Senator John Kennedy branded the idea the ‘dumbest thing possible’ and vowed to block it in Congress.
“The Department of Interior says it wants to kill over 10 percent of the barred owl population because the barred owl is a better hunter than the spotted owl and they want to tip the scales of nature in favor of the spotted owl,” said Kennedy.
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Addressing the Senate, Senator Kennedy gave a rousing speech as he presented his argument while standing between photos of the barred and spotted owls and a cartoon image of Looney Tunes character Elmer Fudd.
“Both of them are God's creatures,” he said. “Unless Congress stops them, they're going to hire hunters right here to kill 453,000 barred owls.
“There are only four million in the United States, but the Department of Interior wants to kill 453,000 mama barred owls, daddy barred owls, and baby barred owls.”
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Continuing in his impassioned speech, the Senator accused the department of 'playing God' as he argued: “I know the bureaucrats at the Department of the Interior. I realize this: they're smarter and more virtuous than you and I are. I get that. But who appointed them God?
“Barred owls are expanding their habitat because the forests in the east have been cut down. That's called adaptive range expansion.
"And do you know what? Whether you believe in God or nature or whatever, that happens every single day in our ecosystem. It's a naturally occurring ecological phenomenon. It's a core behavioral characteristic of mammals.
“The barred owls are not hurting anybody. They're just doing what nature teaches them to do.
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"We're going to change nature? We're going to control our environment to this extent? We're going to pass DEI for owls? We're going to pass quotas for owls?"
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Senator Kennedy isn’t the only opposition either, as no less than 75 groups have also condemned the proposal, with many wildlife advocates stating that it could do more harm than good.
Fears of ‘mistaken identity’ kills and disruption to the natural wildlife populations have caused concern among critics – particularly given how similar both animals look.
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Both species having rounded heads, brown and white-colored bodies, and black eyes – with the main distinguishing characteristics to differentiate the two birds being beak colour and a slight size difference.
Originally native to northeastern US, barred owls began to migrate west in the early 1900s, with deforestation and industrialisation playing a role in their move.
Consequently, the smaller of the two birds, the spotted owl found it had more competition for a limited territory, and population numbers began to dwindle, with the species officially added to the Endangered Species Act as of 1990.
While environmental advocates hope the cull can be avoided, allowing the owls to go unchallenged could wreak havoc on the timber industry, as it would force the harvesting of 2.6 million acres of western Oregon forest to slow.
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Timber industry leaders have argued that efforts to save the spotted owl are bad for their business, so are hoping the barred owl cull could be a quick fix.
They argue hundreds of jobs could be affected, something which the American Forest Resource Council is keen to avoid.
“It's strange that a Republican in the south is taking on the owl issue, specifically, when its consequences will impact western Oregon BLM timber sales,” chief executive Travis Joseph said in an interview.
"It will lead to lower revenues for counties, it will impact jobs and it will put them on a trajectory towards extinction."
Topics: Joe Biden, Environment
Phoebe Tonks