Public Demonstration Against Dutch Gap Black Vulture Culling, 2007 When: Monday, 10/29/07, 11:00AM Where: Dutch Gap (Henricus Park) in Chesterfield County, VA We will meet at the boat ramp at Dutch Gap (Henricus Park). Depending on media, USDA, USFWS, and Dominion turnout, we will either stay there or move to another, more visible area where we can have a greater impact. Please come if you can! Primary message: Killing of black vultures at Dutch Gap as an effort to control the population there has not worked. This clearly demonstrates that this management application is ineffective and should not be used again. Purpose: 1) To prevent (or halt, if they begin to shoot the birds before or on Friday) this year?s ?harvesting? of 400-700 black vultures at Dutch Gap. 2) To educate the general public about the current plight of Dutch Gap?s black vulture population. Media (TV and Richmond Times-Dispatch) have been alerted. I will keep you updated as confirmations come through. We have one so far. 3) To voice our concerns to local and federal legislators, Federal agencies (USDA, USFWS), and Chesterfield County management. 4) It is not known why the USDA and USFWS keep renewing the permit for so many black vultures to be shot every year when it is obviously not working to curb the number of birds roosting at Dutch Gap. 5) To date, no research been thoroughly conducted on this black vulture population. If it does exist, the public has not been made aware of any such research. a) We do not know what ecological problems have resulted from taking nearly 1,500 black vultures from the area. b) We do not know what culling another 400-700 this year will do. c) We do not know where these birds coming/migrating from and consequences on neighboring and regional populations have not been assessed. 6) Appropriate non-lethal methods have not been implemented. Previous efforts (effigies, firecrackers, etc.) have merely scattered the birds within the site, not AWAY from the site. Other, better solutions that have not been attempted: a) Moving the boat ramp. b) Moving the birds elsewhere in hopes of establishing a viable roosting population at another site. c) Dispersing the birds? night roosts in order to stop them from using Dutch Gap during the day. __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Tired of spam? Yahoo! Mail has the best spam protection around http://mail.yahoo.com