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Article Archive > Shooting of turkeys infuriates neighbors Shooting of turkeys infuriates neighbors Witnesses said five of the gobblers were killed, and another one or two managed to run off into the woods near Stone Hill Road bleeding. The Department of Environmental Protection, which oversees Fish and Wildlife, said three birds were killed and the ones that ran off were not hurt. According to Tony McBride, a biologist for the state, an officer was dispatched after residents had complained the birds were interfering with traffic and acting aggressively. "The officer followed department protocols," McBride said. "When we have aggressive turkeys, we want to remove them from populated areas so they don't harm anyone or interfere with traffic." This time of year, trapping is not a viable option because the birds are not as quick to walk into a corn-baited trap as they are in the winter months, McBride said. Carly Hunter of Stone Hill Road in Colts Neck said there was no need to shoot the birds. "They would come to my house two or three times a day," she said. "I would put out food and water for them. They never raised a feather at me. This is just ridiculous. People need to know if you call the wildlife people, they're going to kill them." The officer who dispatched the birds, Kim Tinnes, said division rules did not allow her to comment. McBride said a growing turkey population, coupled with an increasing loss of habitat, have brought the turkeys into closer contact with people. That has led to an increase in aggressive-bird complaints. The Hunt Road area has been plagued by the wild fowl the last few days, Freehold Township police Lt. George Baumann said. "We've had several calls in the last couple of days where we had to go and shoo as many as two dozen of these turkeys off the road," he said. "The Fish and (Wildlife) officer went out there today after we got two more complaints and she observed them herself. That's when she dispatched three of them." Some of the residents apparently had second thoughts about their requests to get rid of the birds, said Victor "Buddy" Amato, chief of police for the Monmouth County Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals. They filed a complaint with the SPCA and the Associated Humane Society, alleging animal cruelty on the part of Tinnes, he said. "I talked to the officer involved, and from what I can see she did everything right," Amato said. "Fish and (Wildlife) does have the right to shoot them if they are nuisance birds. The rule is to dispatch them in a humane way, and that (shooting) is considered a humane way." Bill Sleight, one of the people concerned about the shooting, disputed the state's assertion that none of the birds was wounded. He said he and some others followed a blood trail to some woods near Stone Hill Road in Colts Neck. He said just one Hunt Road resident had complained about the turkeys. "That (wounded) bird is still out there," he said. "Hopefully, the blood will coagulate and he'll survive. People sometimes freak out because they're an ugly bird, but wildlife control didn't need to blast them." Coincidentally, spring turkey hunting will begin today for young hunters, and it's open season on Monday.
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