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Posted by David LaPuma on 20:08:20 04/19/06
Anyone hear about this??
It was posted on the Jerseybirds listserve this evening. Thought you might be interested. Feel free to remove it from the TAS board if you deem it off topic, or over to Floridabirds.
-David
Off topic but a follow-up to an earlier post.
Following the original post (at bottom), I wrote an email expressing my displeasure with the actions taken. Here is the response from the agency....
Ron Lane
Clinton Twshp, Hunterdon County
Thank you for writing to the U.S. Department of Agriculture concerning the
removal of two red-shouldered hawks from the Villas of Grand Cypress Golf
Resort in Orange County, Florida.
We recognize your concerns and appreciate the opportunity to provide you
with further information about this situation. Our Wildlife Services
program works to resolve conflicts between people and wildlife when human
health and safety, or agricultural and natural resources, are jeopardized.
In this particular case, the Villas of Grand Cypress Golf Resort requested
assistance from our Florida Wildlife Services office (Gainesville) in
responding to two red-shouldered hawks that had attacked 12 employees and
guests of the resort and were continuing to display aggression towards
people.
We must emphasize that we value wildlife as a natural resource, and we work
very hard to create a balance that better enables people and wildlife to
coexist. However, our foremost priority in conducting wildlife management
activities is to ensure public safety. We realize that the outcome of the
situation at Villas of Grand Cypress Golf Resort is upsetting, and that
many people would have preferred we relocate the hawks nest to resolve the
matter. We certainly agree that nonlethal methods such as relocation are
the most preferable actions to take in managing and resolving conflicts
caused by wildlife. In all of our wildlife management operations, our
officials consider a variety of factors and recommend or use nonlethal
methods whenever safe, practical, and effective. In fact, prior to this
recent incident, Florida Wildlife Services officials had not used lethal
measures to control birds of prey in more than a decade.
Unfortunately, nonlethal management methods do not work in every situation.
In this case, the height of the tree in which the hawks nest was located
made it unduly hazardous for our officials to attempt nest relocation.
Moreover, the hawks were actively nesting; disturbing the nest likely would
have heightened their aggression and provoked even more serious attacks on
people in the surrounding area, including our officials. Other nonlethal
options, such as expanding the cordoned area or tranquilizing the hawks,
proved equally problematic. The hawks had attacked well beyond the
cordoned area, and it was unlikely that expanding this area further would
be successful in controlling the situation, even temporarily. Stun darts
were not an option because the hawks could not be approached closely enough
to ensure the accuracy of this method. Further, dart guns that are
accurate and powerful enough to reach flying hawks would also likely kill
them. Because the hawks posed an immediate, ongoing safety hazard, there
was not sufficient
time to plan and implement trapping activities. While we regret the
necessity of lethal actions taken in this case, we assure you that we
considered all nonlethal methods first in determining how to address this
situation. We continue to believe that our actions were necessary to
resolve the problem humanely and protect the public from further harm.
With regard to our authority in this situation, red-shouldered hawks are
listed as a protected species under the Migratory Bird Treaty Act, which is
enforced by the U.S. Department of Interior s Fish and Wildlife Service
(FWS). However, the Act contains provisions that allow individuals,
groups, and Federal entities such as ours to obtain permits for the removal
of otherwise protected bird species to manage damage to agriculture or
other natural resources or threats to human health and safety. Wildlife
Services has a permit from FWS authorizing our officials to conduct
depredation activities in Florida involving red-shouldered hawks. Our
wildlife control operations at the Villas of Grand Cypress Golf Resort were
conducted in full compliance with the provisions of this depredation
permit, as well as all other applicable Federal, State, and local laws and
procedures.
We hope this information is helpful in explaining our actions in this
unfortunate situation.
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