Davis, the college town to our north, has a somewhat Hitchockian problem on its hands: The town's been besieged by aggressive wild turkeys, and, frightened and fed up, city officials have decided to fight back. The Sacramento Bee reports that members of the city council this week voted to take the war to their foes with a battle plan that consists of trapping and relocating birds as well as killing some of the more menacing creatures.
As it currently stands, the turkeys pretty much have the run of the town. They took over the cemetery ten years ago — chasing mourners and eating flowers left behind at graves — and spread out from there. One particularly mean bird, Downtown Tom, messes with shoppers in the downtown area. One man was even forced to call 911 after a bird (no word on whether or not it was Tom) pinned him up against a wall near the downtown bank.
“They’re living on Fantasy Island here,” Davis’s wildlife resource specialist John McNerny, speaking of the 80 or so birds that call the city home, told the Bee. “They have everything they need.”
Davis talks turkeys tonight! What to do about all these wild turkeys? Leading plan is to trap and remove them. pic.twitter.com/FIRqDrRpiA
— Tom Miller (@KCRAMiller) October 25, 2016
It is already illegal to feed the birds, but as the Associated Press observes, over the years many residents of the wildlife friendly city have ignored those rules. Now, it seems, their persistent flouting of the law has come home to roost.
Officials estimate the turkey offensive will cost roughly $20,500 in the first year. Although, with Thanksgiving fast approaching, a much less expensive option presents itself.
Related: Offering A Kid A Soda Will Soon Be Illegal In Davis
