Judy and Tweeters,

I certainly cannot speak for WDFW, but based on my experience in B.C.
(I worked for 12 years for BC Agriculture in the field of wildlife
damage control), I can offer some speculation as to why WDFW is
proposing to begin a hunting season on crows.

Crows (both Northwestern and American, and intermediates between these
two) are among the more serious bird pests of agriculture in the
Pacific Northwest. In B.C., they do a lot of damage to corn crops by
pulling up newly sprouted seedlings. They are a significant pest of
tree fruits, especially cherries, and also of blueberries. In fact,
they cause damage to a wider variety of crops than any other bird
species, although they are a much less serious pest overall than
European Starlings.

In British Columbia, crows of both species are NOT protected under
either federal or provincial laws, and may be killed at any time
without a permit if they are damaging crops (or attacking domestic
animals, e.g. baby chicks). In Washington, I suspect that they are
protected at least under state law, and that permits were once needed
to shoot them. Establishing an open season would eliminate the need
for kill permits, and would decrease the workload for WDFW. The same
approach (establishing an open season, but in a limited area) was used
for Common Ravens in BC, which are normally protected. The area in
question was Saltspring Island, where Ravens were attacking and
maiming or killing numerous newborn lambs every year.

It should be pointed out that crows are very wary, and extremely
difficult to kill by shooting! In my opinion, having an open season on
crows will make little difference in the number of crows killed, and
it sounds like a response to demands from the farming/ranching
community, rather than a realistic attempt to reduce crow numbers. No
one would ever suggest that shooting crows is great sport.

Judy, you are correct that crow populations in some parts of North
America have decreased greatly because of the West Nile virus. The
timing of this initiative by WDFW is not good. It might be better to
wait a few years, see if West Nile makes much of an impact in
Washington, and see if an open season on crows is still considered
advisable.

Finally, a few comment on killing birds as a means of reducing crop
damage. In general, in my opinion, this is a poor approach to crop
damage reduction. For most species of birds (e.g. Starlings,
waterfowl), scaring devices or methods that exclude birds from crops
(e.g. plastic netting over blueberry farms) is far more effective than
killing birds. However, crows are much more persistent and harder to
scare off than most species (the proverbial "scarecrow" rarely works
for long, if at all), and shooting is one of the few things that seems
to work in keeping them away.

Wayne C. Weber
Delta, BC
contopus at telus.net



----- Original Message -----
From: Judy Stone-Roth <ravan at centurytel.net>
To: <tweeters at u.washington.edu>
Sent: Wednesday, June 30, 2004 6:57 PM
Subject: why corvids?


> This is not a attempt to start a hunting thread, but rather a
query.
> Could someone from F&WL please explain the planned open hunting
season
> on crows in Washington State. This starts in Oct, 04. will remain
open
> through out the following year, and states 'no limit'. Are the
crows
> involved in some conspiracy concerning National Security, or
> harrassing John Ashcroft? Is a crow recipe the rage in low-carob
land?
> Even the Band-tailed Pigeon gets a small break in the pursuit, and
you
> can at least eat them. Is the threat of West Nile getting to state
> officials, causing a preemptive strike on vectors? There just there?
> Please somebody toss me a crumb, opinions welcomed! Are Robins and
> Swifts next?
>
> Thanks, Judy
>
> Judy Stone-Roth
> Ocean Park WA
> ravan at centurytel.net
>
>