Oregon Town Has Seen the Enemy, and They Are Turkeys

A small Oregon municipality is asking the state for advice on how to handle a flock of wild turkeys that are ruining gardens and leaving droppings just about everywhere, per the AP. Officials in Pilot Rock, a city of 1,500 people about 230 miles east of Portland, say dozens of turkeys roam the area, reports the East Oregonian. City Councilor Bob Deno complained that he has 15 birds frequenting a tree on his property, and resident Mary Ann Low told a council meeting Tuesday that she once counted 68 turkeys in her mother's yard.

"I love wildlife, but this is getting to the point where it's just ridiculous," Low said. City officials considered several options, including a spay-and-neuter program, but they ultimately decided to ask the state for advice. Greg Rimbach, a wildlife biologist with the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife, had six recommendations, ranging from a ban on feeding the birds, to trapping and transporting them, to killing the turkeys and donating the meat to a food bank. No word on when Pilot Rock will decide, but "no matter what we do, we're never going to get rid of all of them," said Rimbach. "We'll always have a few turkeys." (More turkeys stories.)