I just saw the following news story...
==================================================================================================
Up to 2,000 Birds Killed at Ga. Farm
WHITE, Ga. (AP) - Up to 2,000 hawks, doves, ducks, geese and other birds
within a half-mile of a
Georgia farm died after feeding on corn that had been laced with insecticide
and left out in the
open as bait, state officials say.
``Some birds were just feathers and skeletons and some birds were just alive
and dying,'' said Sgt.
Mitch Yeargin of the Georgia Wildlife Resources Division law enforcement
branch. ``I tried to pick
up a seemingly alive bird, but it flew up to a limb and fell down.''
Investigators said that based on interviews they conducted, they believe the
corn had been used as
bait at the farm to get rid of nuisance wildlife. The investigators would not
say what species of
wildlife were targeted, and they said they have not established who put the
corn out.
In Georgia, poisoning wildlife is punishable by up to a year in jail and a
$1,000 fine for each
animal harmed.
No arrests had been made Thursday, and officials would not say who owned the
farm.
Deborah Mosher called authorities Tuesday after seeing dozens of dead and
dying birds on her land,
near the fishing-pond dam where the tainted corn was found Wednesday.
``I just went out that morning to put out laundry and saw a few birds and
started looking around
and saw more and more birds,'' Mosher said. ``They were all on the ground,
most of them were
underneath the trees.''
Investigators found 500 carcasses in different states of decay, but snowfall
prevented them from
making a complete count. They estimated 1,000 to 2,000 birds were killed.
Federal officials are involved in the investigation because the deaths include
protected migratory
birds and because of the possible misuse of a pesticide. No endangered or
threatened birds had been
found as of Thursday, wildlife officials said.
Officials said they were told the insecticide probably was Warbex, which is
commonly used to reduce
lice on cattle.
Four years ago, state and federal wildlife authorities fined four
quail-hunting plantations in
south Georgia for deliberately poisoning chicken eggs to kill predators that
eat quail eggs.
===================================================================================================
Mark Greene
Trenton, TN
=================NOTES TO SUBSCRIBER=====================
The TN-Bird Net requires you to sign your messages with
first and last name, city (town) and state abbreviation.
-----------------------------------------------------
To post to this mailing list, simply send email to:
tn-bird@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx
-----------------------------------------------------
To unsubscribe, send email to:
tn-bird-request@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
with 'unsubscribe' in the Subject field.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Topographical Maps located at http://topozone.com/find.asp
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Visit the Tennessee Ornithological Society
web site at http://www.tnbirds.org
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
TN-Bird Net Owner: Wallace Coffey, Bristol, TN
jwcoffey@xxxxxxxxxx (423) 764-3958
=========================================================