The natives of Canton Massachusetts, where I actually used to hunt, are being terroriized by turkeys.
" "Those turkeys terrify me," Canton resident Judy Klein told the local newspaper, the Patriot Ledger.
" "The turkeys have become a public safety problem," Canton Animal Control officer Ellen Barnett said.
"Saturday's Patriot Ledger revealed that, during the summer, Canton residents frequently called Animal Control to report "aggressive turkeys chasing joggers… and scaring mothers wheeling strollers with babies." Pedestrians took to carrying sticks and umbrellas for protection. To combat the growing bantam menace, the town hired a hunter to kill the flock's two alpha males with a bow and arrow. Alas, he bagged only one, so the threat level remains elevated."
Read the whole thing--it gets worse!!!
1 comment:
It seems that suburbanites don't want hunters around, and they don't want wildlife around, either.
I am an advocate of creating more suburban and even urban hunting opportunities. Some of the most plentiful game (whitetail, turkey, Canada goose, raccoon, etc) are in these areas. I think safety issues can be addressed easily and if loud guns are the problem, there are plenty of ways around that, too (bows, crossbows, falcons, dogs, egg gathering, etc).
Too often, hunting is becoming a sport where people have to travel to participate. I have hunting friends who have to travel hours just to go out for a morning's hunt. I have gone on many hunting trips but I also think it is important to hunt around home. You get to know the place and the local fauna and in essence you are always hunting it, checking it out over the year to observe what's happening.
That is what hooked me on hunting as a kid and I could never imagine living in a place where hunting is more than a few minutes away.
Most people do not live in the country, and I think "hunting near home" can still be possible in suburban environments.
Unfortunately, even many outdoor writers seem to oppose this idea. Our outdoor editor for the paper chastising hunters for hunting in fields near the city for fear it will "taint hunting's image." That makes it seem we have something to hide.
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