Government Approves Extermination of One Owl Species to Save Another
- 11 years ago
The United States Federal government is moving forward with their plan to exterminate invasive barred owls in an effort to save local northern spotted owls.
The United States Federal government is moving forward with their plan to exterminate invasive barred owls in an effort to save local northern spotted owls.
According to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the declining spotted owl populations are directly related to the growing number of barred owls in their territory.
They have approved the removal of around 36 hundred barred owls from areas in Oregon, California and Washington state using lethal and non-lethal methods.
Lethal removal of barred owls is a controversial issue that has been put on the back burner since 2005, because of scientific and environmental concerns.
Robin Bown, a federal wildlife biologist said: “We’re not sending public hunters into the woods to declare open season on the barred owl. This is a controlled experiment, using folks who are trained and skilled at animal removal. Our goal in this experiment is twofold: Will moving barred owls help the spotted owl population to recover? And can we use removal of barred owls as a management tool?”
The northern spotted owl is an endangered species with a population that is seeing an average loss of 2 point 9 percent each year.
The United States Federal government is moving forward with their plan to exterminate invasive barred owls in an effort to save local northern spotted owls.
According to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the declining spotted owl populations are directly related to the growing number of barred owls in their territory.
They have approved the removal of around 36 hundred barred owls from areas in Oregon, California and Washington state using lethal and non-lethal methods.
Lethal removal of barred owls is a controversial issue that has been put on the back burner since 2005, because of scientific and environmental concerns.
Robin Bown, a federal wildlife biologist said: “We’re not sending public hunters into the woods to declare open season on the barred owl. This is a controlled experiment, using folks who are trained and skilled at animal removal. Our goal in this experiment is twofold: Will moving barred owls help the spotted owl population to recover? And can we use removal of barred owls as a management tool?”
The northern spotted owl is an endangered species with a population that is seeing an average loss of 2 point 9 percent each year.