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Questions About NJ Bird Kill
By
Jen Chung
Published Jan 30, 2009
Modified Jan 30, 2009
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By
Jen Chung
Published Jan 30, 2009
Modified Jan 30, 2009
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Last weekend, "hundreds of birds...dropped dead on Somerset County cars, porches and snow-covered lawns," according to the Star-Ledger. The birds were all starlings and it turns out USDA had sprayed a farm with pesticide to kill the birds, whose droppings were contaminating farm animals' food. The USDA admitted it wasn't handled well—"Unfortunately, this was also done on a Friday, so the birds died on the weekend when no one was around to respond to calls. I can just imagine it would have been very disconcerting for people to find the birds dead"—but now two Congressman want to make sure their constituents are prepared if they see dozens of bird corpses on their lawns.; the AP reports that Reps. Rush Holt and Frank Pallone Jr. are asking for an investigation. While the USDA says there was no health threat to residents, PETA describes, "DRC-1339 kills birds by attacking their kidneys, eventually resulting in total renal failure and death. This is a slow, torturous process that can take up to several days."
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Jen Chung
Jen Chung is a former WNYC and Gothamist editor.
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Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
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