Neighbors divided on crow control

Deepa Bharath

COSTA MESA -- Residents are divided over the action taken by police

officers who shot and killed a dozen crows with pellet guns last week in

response to complaints by area neighbors.

Costa Mesa Police officers said residents on 20th Street between

Tustin and Santa Ana streets filed a formal complaint three months ago

with a petition signed by 23 people from 16 homes.

Lt. Karl Schuler of the Costa Mesa Police Department said there were

225 of the large, black birds flying and cawing in the area early in the

morning of Sept. 21.

“I was amazed at the number of birds and the noise they were

generating,” he said.

Schuler said he will return to the neighborhood and shoot more birds

if they return in large numbers.

“We don’t want to do that,” he said. “But if they come back, we have

to.”

In an effort to reduce the noise generated by the crows, officers

explored various options, including poisoned baits and spike traps.

However, Schuler explained that poison could kill other birds, and that

the traps could potentially cause nonfatal injuries.

He said that using the pellet guns last week appeared to have been

successful in driving the birds away.

“This morning there were only two birds flying around,” he said

Thursday. “Birds are intelligent. When they see guns, they sense danger.”

However, several residents have since called the police department to

state their opposition to the killing of the crows. Some neighbors in the

area said they were appalled by the action.

“It’s really sad people don’t enjoy nature anymore,” said Evelyn

Velky, who has lived on 20th Street for 11 years. “Why do we have the

right to shout with joy and the crows don’t? That’s cruel.”

Others, like Ruben Cortez, heaved a sigh of relief.

“When I went out to get the paper in the morning, the whole place

sounded like a turkey ranch,” he said. “I love birds, but these crows --

they just serve no purpose. They’re a nuisance.”

The city was forced to address the situation for health and safety

reasons, Schuler said.

The air-powered guns used by the officers to shoot the crows resemble

standard rifles and fire 4.5-millimeter pellets. The birds were killed

instantly by the pellets, Schuler said. Their carcasses were collected

and transported to the police department for disposal.

The officers’ action was legal because crows are not a protected or

endangered species, said Troy Swauger of the state Fish and Game

Department in Sacramento.

Swauger said Fish and Game usually employs nonlethal methods to move

birds from an area, such as blowing foghorns in intervals or firing

blanks from blast guns. The sound normally scares the birds away.

QUESTION

o7 SOMETHING TO CROW ABOUT?f7

Is it acceptable to shoot and kill noisy crows because they cause a

neighborhood disturbance? If not, what would be an appropriate solution?

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