Quick to rationalize killing turkeys
A wild turkey roams yards in Bellport in November; the population on Long Island is now prevalent, the state Department of Environmental Conservation has said. Credit: Newsday/Steve Pfost
Wild turkeys were so beloved in our nation’s history that Benjamin Franklin reportedly wanted them to be America’s national bird, describing them as “birds of courage” [“Turkey count is on,” News, Dec. 27]. The wild turkeys early settlers encountered walked right up to humans. Not surprisingly, this bird’s gentleness was its undoing in the Empire State.
Hunting and urban sprawl led to their near extinction in New York by the late 19th century, and survivors were abducted onto farms where they were inbred into the domestic turkeys we kill by the tens of millions for Thanksgiving dinner every year. Now that the wild turkey population is on the rebound, it is reprehensible that our first reaction is to again seek justification for their extermination. Shooting birds is callous.
Effective ways to humanely control wild turkeys are through the use of exclusion devices and hazing techniques to keep them away from areas of concern or to use egg oiling to limit their reproduction.
John DiLeonardo,
Malverne
Editor’s note: The writer is an anthrozoologist and executive director of the nonprofit Long Island Orchestrating for Nature (LION).
I read Newsday’s article on wild turkeys. Why doesn’t the state Department of Environmental Conservation, or anyone else for that matter, take a look into the Canada geese population (and problem) on Long Island?
These territorial birds are a nuisance and a danger. Not to mention the waste they leave behind! And their population is only growing. Something needs to be done.
John Balazy,
Miller Place
