Wild turkeys, begone: Davis continues wild turkey removal process
The city of Davis is well-known for its affinity for bikes and university it houses, UC Davis. But in recent years, it has also become notorious for the wild turkeys that roam the area.
But now, that problem will hopefully be solved as the city puts a capture and relocation plan into place for the birds the city calls a safety hazard. The Davis City Council approved a Wild Turkey Population Management Plan last October, with the goal being to reduce the amount of turkeys in Davis.
About 25 turkeys were captured in March and were sent to a wildlife area in Yuba County, according to CBS Sacramento. 25 more turkeys are expected to be moved in the fall.
The city said that the turkey population has gone from six in 2006 to nearly 100 in 2016, according to CBS Sacramento.
The removal plan’s primary method is capture and relocation, but it also authorizes lethal removal as a secondary option, according to the Enterprise. That method has only been used once on an aggressive turkey residing in downtown Davis.
That turkey, nicknamed Downtown Tom, cornered pedestrians at ATMS, the walls of downtown businesses or even in their cars, which forced some people to call 911, according to the Davis Enterprise.
The plan to move the turkeys to Yuba county is expected to cost more than $20,000, according to CBS Sacramento.
The city is considering a fine for residents who intentionally feed the turkeys, according to the Enterprise.
The capture and relocation of the birds has temporarily stopped to comply with a Fish and wildlife code that disallows people from disrupting nesting birds, since the turkeys have moved into breeding season. Capture and relocation of the turkeys will resume in the fall, according to the Enterprise.
This story was originally published July 11, 2017 at 6:00 AM with the headline "Wild turkeys, begone: Davis continues wild turkey removal process."