One measure by the Government of Donald Trump against owls in the United States is generating strong controversy. The administration will allocate around $1.3 billion to kill specimens of a certain species in a “selective” manner.
This is a proposal promoted by his predecessor, Joe Biden, aimed at the spotted owl. It seeks to prevent native species from being displaced from their habitats in the forests of the West Coast.
Several Oregon congressmen have already asked the president to cancel the plan, which would involve killing 450,000 animals over the next three decades.
Donald Trump against owls: the origin of the measure
This selective killing is aimed at the spotted owl. It is an invasive species that displaces native species on the West Coast.
Trump, questioned for the owl-killing plan. (Photo: EFE).[/caption>
That’s why Biden in the previous legislature promoted this initiative to eradicate them from this region. However, it sparked harsh criticism when it became known that the current government would maintain it.
“It cannot work and will not work. It’s a budgetary disaster,” wrote the lawmakers in a letter sent on Tuesday.
The 19 signatories, led by Republican Representative Troy Nehls from Texas, and Democratic Representative Sydney Kamlager-Dove from California, stated that the killings would be very expensive.
They estimated that the cost of the killings would be around $3,000 per bird.
They also questioned whether the shootings would help the native populations of northern spotted owls, which are intended to be protected. However, the country’s Fish and Wildlife Service approved this strategy.
According to authorities, the objective would be to shoot spotted owls for 30 years in a maximum area of about 60,000 square kilometers in California, Oregon, and Washington.
What happens to the spotted owls
Spotted owls are native to the Eastern United States and began to appear in the Pacific Northwest in the 1970s. They quickly displaced many spotted owls, which are smaller birds that require larger territories to reproduce.
It is estimated that around 100,000 spotted owls now live in an area where there are only about 7,100 spotted owls, according to federal authorities.
“This is an inappropriate and ineffective use of American taxpayers’ money,” the lawmakers demanded. “This latest plan is an example of our federal government trying to supplant nature and control environmental outcomes at a great cost.”
Trump’s controversial measure.
When will the plan start
According to the plan approved in September and set to start this spring, this year more than 2,400 barn owls will be killed.
From 2027, the number will increase to more than 15,500 birds per year. For years, scientists have been shooting spotted owls experimentally, and authorities claim that the results show that the strategy could help prevent the disappearance of the spotted owl.
Until last year, researchers had killed around 4,500 spotted owls on the West Coast since 2009.
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