Look I'm sure I'm not as smart as some of the government bigwigs in Washington. But doesn't it sound morally wrong to attempt to save one species by genociding others? In order to save spotted owls, the federal government plans to kill 500,000 other owls. It's all in the name of protecting them.
Wait, what? I guess if you are a spotted owl then this is great news. But if you're another type of owl, specifically the barred owl, then you may want to run (fly) for the hills. The government is sending in their death squads to come take you out. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) announced that it plans to kill half a million barred owl (470,000) to be exact. They're bringing in trained shooters to take out the owls in the Pacific Northwest.
You see, barred owls have been bullying the spotted owls. Since they're larger, the barred variety have been taking all the food sources.
"Barred owls have been spotted in Wyoming and there is evidence of a successful breeding population in Grand Teton National Park," raptor researcher Chuck Preston told Cowboy State Daily. The birds have also been spotted in California, Oregon, and Washington. They're trouble for the native spotted owl.
Spotted Owls Plan
So far, they've already killed 4,500 barred owls since 2009. Now, over the next 30 years, they plan to take down another 470,000. As you can imagine, the announcement has had a lot of backlash. Critics have questioned the optics of killing the birds and even if it will help the spotted variety from extinction.
"From a philosophical perspective, it presents a sticky dilemma," Preston, who was the founding curator of the Draper Natural History Museum at the Buffalo Bill Center of the West in Cody, said. "Barred owls have expanded their range due in large part to human activities. Many other species and subspecies have done the same."
Preston doesn't believe that barred owls fall under the classification of invasive species. Instead, they are expanding their environments.
He said, "So, should barred owl expansion be considered true invasive or simply species expanding its range due to environmental change?"
"From pragmatic standpoint, I think it's a moot point. The genie is out of the bottle, and barred owl seems better adapted to niche opened. You would have to kill barred owls indefinitely," he added.
