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Birds of prey in the United States are protected by Federal law, yet this still does not stop some people from shooting them. One of the most common reasons of raptor shootings is through the outdated belief that these birds will ruin a farm by hunting livestock. True, a hawk may occasionally go after an unattended chicken (what predator WOULDN'T go after an easy meal?) but such predation on livestock is not as common as the prey raptors such as the red-tailed hawk prefer - rodents.
Red-tailed hawks are expert rodent hunters. Having one or a pair of these birds on a farm is the most cost-effective, environmentally friendly method of rodent control you can have. Yet people still shoot these birds, under the belief that they need to remove them from their property as a 'risk.' As any responsible farmer knows, putting your animals outside will ALWAYS run the risk of predation. You should be more worried about stray dogs or cats getting your chickens than a soaring hawk.
In 2002, a woman in Pennsylvania was charged with killing and trapping 171 hawks. The reason? She disliked that the birds were hunting game birds that she released on her property to train her dogs. This woman received a fine of nearly $130,000 and avoided jail time. This 'fine' was a slap on the wrist for the woman, who was a millionaire and still saw no problem with what she did.
It saddens me that raptors are still being killed for these 'reasons', which are not really reasons at all and more excuses to shoot at birds that really do more help than harm. Those who shoot hawks to protect a few chickens are shooting themselves in the foot...as these birds do more to protect crops from rodent damage than any pesticide, trap, or cat could ever do.
Watercolor on hot-press Fabriano, 5 X 9 inches
Red-tailed hawks are expert rodent hunters. Having one or a pair of these birds on a farm is the most cost-effective, environmentally friendly method of rodent control you can have. Yet people still shoot these birds, under the belief that they need to remove them from their property as a 'risk.' As any responsible farmer knows, putting your animals outside will ALWAYS run the risk of predation. You should be more worried about stray dogs or cats getting your chickens than a soaring hawk.
In 2002, a woman in Pennsylvania was charged with killing and trapping 171 hawks. The reason? She disliked that the birds were hunting game birds that she released on her property to train her dogs. This woman received a fine of nearly $130,000 and avoided jail time. This 'fine' was a slap on the wrist for the woman, who was a millionaire and still saw no problem with what she did.
It saddens me that raptors are still being killed for these 'reasons', which are not really reasons at all and more excuses to shoot at birds that really do more help than harm. Those who shoot hawks to protect a few chickens are shooting themselves in the foot...as these birds do more to protect crops from rodent damage than any pesticide, trap, or cat could ever do.
Watercolor on hot-press Fabriano, 5 X 9 inches
Category Artwork (Traditional) / Fantasy
Species Gryphon
Size 532 x 950px
File Size 596.8 kB
Listed in Folders
If you want to help raptors, there's a number of things you can do. You can donate to any number of raptor centers that specialize in rehabilitation and or education, or volunteer with one of these organizations. Centers such as the one I volunteer for do educational programs where we tell people about the birds, and dispel myths. If you want to find a center near you, the best thing I can recommend is simply to Google "Raptor Center [state]" Even if you're not directly speaking to the public, any contribution you make (monetary, material donation, or volunteer) will help the organization overall with their goals. :)
So magnificently heartbreaking...
I adore raptors of all shapes and sizes, and they've always been welcome on my family's farms (yes, even on the farms that had chickens.) It sickens me to know that so many people are so horribly ignorant of all the good these beautiful birds do.
I adore raptors of all shapes and sizes, and they've always been welcome on my family's farms (yes, even on the farms that had chickens.) It sickens me to know that so many people are so horribly ignorant of all the good these beautiful birds do.
I agree.
Here in Montana to a friend of my family, out-of-state people are wanting him off his ancestral farm land, for a better view of the lake, so they terrorize by killing the game off.
What I've been told, they killed a pair of Ospreys and a pair of Bald eagles. Leaving their chicks to die, which one was saved by the local FWP enforcement after it was reported.
It's sad that none of the local enforcement isn't doing anything to stop it, despite the many a time he reported it happening to the raptors and game animals trying to live there on his land.
Here in Montana to a friend of my family, out-of-state people are wanting him off his ancestral farm land, for a better view of the lake, so they terrorize by killing the game off.
What I've been told, they killed a pair of Ospreys and a pair of Bald eagles. Leaving their chicks to die, which one was saved by the local FWP enforcement after it was reported.
It's sad that none of the local enforcement isn't doing anything to stop it, despite the many a time he reported it happening to the raptors and game animals trying to live there on his land.
That's terrible. :( While all raptors are protected by federal law, eagles are particularly protected, and killing one is a huge deal legally. The only thing your friend could do is get some proof of these people coming on his land (video maybe, photos of their vehicles on his land) and filing charges.
Yeah, it is.
He has challenged people, but he got threatened once with a silenced AR-15 by 'twilight' deer hunters who were on a pontoon boat. So, yeah...they feel they own the place like it's their own reserve. He know the neighbors killed the ospreys, but the eagles he has a guess it's the same party.
He has challenged people, but he got threatened once with a silenced AR-15 by 'twilight' deer hunters who were on a pontoon boat. So, yeah...they feel they own the place like it's their own reserve. He know the neighbors killed the ospreys, but the eagles he has a guess it's the same party.
You made me tear up with this, I love these birds so much and to think about people shooting them, and that damned woman from my home state should've been shot herself >.< We don't even have a farm and we have chickens, and yes I know that there is a small chance one will not be there one day because of the foxes or hawks, but you don't see/hear me going around and shooting them!
The emotion you put into the face just screams "WHY, what have I done!?" to me. So sad, I would die if I saw a gryphon/hawk fall from the sky shot by some dumb human!
The emotion you put into the face just screams "WHY, what have I done!?" to me. So sad, I would die if I saw a gryphon/hawk fall from the sky shot by some dumb human!
Thank you - I'm glad I was able to capture that expression. It's just so senseless. I'm not even approaching this from a strictly "golly I love nature everyone should lurve nature" standpoint but also a "hey, dumbasses, these birds HELP protect your farms, why don't you pull your head out and THINK before you shoot?"
Why thank you!
*and yes rats are sooo smart, we had one rat who was always getting out of her cage, no matter how we barricaded it and put stuff on the top, LOL, I love me my ratties! You should check out my most resent upload* http://www.furaffinity.net/view/5946492
*and yes rats are sooo smart, we had one rat who was always getting out of her cage, no matter how we barricaded it and put stuff on the top, LOL, I love me my ratties! You should check out my most resent upload* http://www.furaffinity.net/view/5946492
People are so quick to shout "It's MY property MY livestock these pests needs to get off or die!" Yet they don't realize it wasn't always their property...and animals don't understand 'property lines.' When you buy property, you buy it with the understanding of the environment around. It's like getting angry when rain falls on your hand - it's nature, it happens, deal with it.
Or even the legality behind endangered species. MY LAND is commonly used as an excuse. When land owners start mucking with river front habitat you run into even more problems when neighbors downriver begin to suffer right alongside the habitat and animals. Being neighborly, or even moral, is more than just getting along with those that look like you.
When will people learn that you have to co exist with everything and everyone be it human to animal. It is unfair to the creatures that call the land their home when the humans go about claiming land saying it is theirs and no one can be upon it, not even the natural wild life. You did a very powerful piece here and I am proud to say I too help when I can at the local wildlife center out here.
It's true - without getting too "circle of life-y" people need to realize that humans cannot exist alone - even the tiniest bugs have significance in the environment. We can't just keep 'convenient' or 'pretty' animals around. Even mosquitoes have a purpose.
And thank you for your contributions to wildlife! :) It's wonderful that you're helping out.
And thank you for your contributions to wildlife! :) It's wonderful that you're helping out.
I forget what part of the rain forest it was but I heard about a small fly that became extinct and now humans have to take its place in pollinating the flowers on a cliff face or they to shall die out seeing they were being pollinated by those flies alone and nothing else.
Agreed! I remmeber a campaing to reintroduce these to where I grew up... Kestrels are the best rodent control you could ever hope for. These fellows are cheap! They don't hurt the cows, they save wheat from rodents... who wouldn't want to just kick back and like the song "Oklahoma" sings... watch a hawk making lazy circles in the sky! (PS, that is where I grew up.)
It's sad that rich lady from PA was too stupid to solve her problem with fencing/enclosures for her animals instead of just putting them out where anything could eat them. My wife 
and I have chickens ourselves, but I would never try to exterminate the top predators just to keep them safe. When some of the local wildlife killed one of our chickens through the fence, we reinforced the fence. I suppose we could have tried to kill the all the raccoon, opossums, and other predators, but that would be putting my desire for $5 chickens above the unalienable right the local wildlife has to just exist and go about it's own business.
My grandparents used to raise game birds to train their hunting dogs. They used doves and had a large aviary to keep them in. Keeping them enclosed meant that their endurance was very low. While other people would have to shoot their birds in order to make them fall out of the sky, grandma's birds would not fly far before they were exhausted and land on the ground where the soft-mouthed dogs would retrieve them unharmed.
. . . So that woman was really dumb . . .
and I have chickens ourselves, but I would never try to exterminate the top predators just to keep them safe. When some of the local wildlife killed one of our chickens through the fence, we reinforced the fence. I suppose we could have tried to kill the all the raccoon, opossums, and other predators, but that would be putting my desire for $5 chickens above the unalienable right the local wildlife has to just exist and go about it's own business. My grandparents used to raise game birds to train their hunting dogs. They used doves and had a large aviary to keep them in. Keeping them enclosed meant that their endurance was very low. While other people would have to shoot their birds in order to make them fall out of the sky, grandma's birds would not fly far before they were exhausted and land on the ground where the soft-mouthed dogs would retrieve them unharmed.
. . . So that woman was really dumb . . .
reminds me of a red tailed hawk i found on my grandpa's land that had an injured wing.....most likely from someone shooting at it with a 22'. Thankfully i new what to do, threw a rag on it's head and had help to hold him. My dad took him into town and handed him over to animal control(not after he decided to climb, clumsily flapping, up a 2 story tall tree(my dad had to fetch him down)) where they later released him.
it saddens me when people do things like this.
it saddens me when people do things like this.
Agreed!
Where I used to live in NE Alabama the farmers killed off the entire Hawk and Eagle population over several decades, to protect their chicken farms. Well, guess what happened, the rodent exploded, and soon the poisonous snake population got so large that during the spring and summer months you could not venture into the woods, or go swimming in any of the local lakes or creeks without getting bit.
Snakes feed on the over population of rodents, and raptors eat both rodent and snakes.
So, what are the dumbass rednecks solution now? "Clear cut all the trees!" I am being totally serious... They believe the deer hunting will be easier, and the unwanted creature (like snakes) will not have any place to hide. *Sigh*
I am glade I don't live there any more.
Where I used to live in NE Alabama the farmers killed off the entire Hawk and Eagle population over several decades, to protect their chicken farms. Well, guess what happened, the rodent exploded, and soon the poisonous snake population got so large that during the spring and summer months you could not venture into the woods, or go swimming in any of the local lakes or creeks without getting bit.
Snakes feed on the over population of rodents, and raptors eat both rodent and snakes.
So, what are the dumbass rednecks solution now? "Clear cut all the trees!" I am being totally serious... They believe the deer hunting will be easier, and the unwanted creature (like snakes) will not have any place to hide. *Sigh*
I am glade I don't live there any more.
I did a bit of research, and since I've been looking to voulenteer at either the local humane society or with a rescue program, I looked up the orange county raptor center-- it's located in Irvine, and I think that it might be close enough to me that I can offer my time! Thanks for bringing this to everyone's attention.
It's not just focused malice that kills raptors, either. The U.S. gov't is giving huge handouts to "renwable"(I prefer "non-petroleum") energy developers and a big portion of the projects are wind turbines. I forgot the name of the installation, but there's one in CA that kills an honest 67 Golden Eagles every year. The actual estimates are higher due to scavengers removing some bodies before they can be documented. Many developers want to put their projects in sensitive ecological areas where threatened species reside and often try to speed up or circumvent the environmental impact reviews to get their projects started faster. It's not that they specifically want to kill birds, it's that they just don't care what gets hacked to bits by their windmills as long as they're making money.
It is disgusting that people still believe such old wives tails, I bet they also believe in the big bad wolf as well, because this is what it boils down to, this is a big bad wolf situation, they see a meat eating bird like a hawk, they instantly call big bad hawk/eagle/falcon and proceed to shoot, trap and/or poison them. Even people in the Middle Ages knew that such birds can be useful for removing rodents and small mammals, which is why Falconry was a popular form of hunting back then. Now falconry is a dying art, with people using fire arms instead of birds of prey to catch small game, and as we can see, the very birds that caught a mans meal has fallen under the cross hairs of our rifles.
there is a mated pair of falcons near my work who live on the trail bike trail behind were i work. I get to see them nearly every day. as do many of the olderlocals who walk down that path. lots of those old people are commenting on hwo lucky they are to see these beauties up close.
and oen older lady commented that in her day farmers would just shoot them and she always thought it a tragedy
Ive seenher on that trail ever work day this month lookng fora glimpes of our local beauties
and oen older lady commented that in her day farmers would just shoot them and she always thought it a tragedy
Ive seenher on that trail ever work day this month lookng fora glimpes of our local beauties
The same thing is happening (and has been for practically ever since there've been farmers) with our native wolves ;__; It makes me sad every time I hear about it, and I donate monthly to Defenders of Wildlife to help prevent it.
I see large raptors (especially bald eagles and red tail hawks) pretty frequently where I live, and I always feel privileged to be able to see and hear them :3 I still remember a couple months ago, I was painting with my oils class on campus outside, and a red tail that lived nearby kept 'keeer'-ing....it was awesome.
I see large raptors (especially bald eagles and red tail hawks) pretty frequently where I live, and I always feel privileged to be able to see and hear them :3 I still remember a couple months ago, I was painting with my oils class on campus outside, and a red tail that lived nearby kept 'keeer'-ing....it was awesome.
Recall the red wolves released into North Carolina some years back? Funny how several were found as road kill... well, as road paste as their bodies were run over repeatedly,often by the same tires. People who live outside Yellowstone have firearms ready to kill any wolves (and buffalo too) that roam just our of the park borders because "they kill livestock" (or will encroach on grazing land). Sad thing is, more often than not the livestock killed are the young, and it's coyotes who do it, who are only prevalent because the wolves are so scarce. Wolves and coyotes will actively kill each other just to keep the other species away. Gotta love human ignorance.
Back around 2005 a local bald eagle got shot by someone using a BB gun, which resulted in the beak being shattered almost clean through around the base. The poor male was rehabilitated though and was able to be released into the local wildlife preserve.
Also, a (not so) fun fact, it was legal to hunt bald eagles for a long time until they became an endangered species in the United States.
Also, a (not so) fun fact, it was legal to hunt bald eagles for a long time until they became an endangered species in the United States.
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