Black Vultures

USDA is looking into the challenges black vultures caused for ag producers. “Black vultures are a pretty unique species of vulture, and they seem to be a little bit more aggressive and bold than a lot of your species throughout the world. That was Brian Kleuver with USDA's Wildlife Services. “With that, more bold behavior has some documentation of black vultures preying on newborn cattle, lamb, piglets and other species of domestic animals. How often this happens versus it being an incident of it being a stillborn, which does happen with agricultural animals. That's the really tough nut to crack.” They also can go after adult animals. “And if an adult is really weak potentially and on the ground, we do believe that black vultures in the right situations may actually potentially prey an attack on a listless adult. Meanwhile, the number of black vultures in this country is increasing, which is opposite to vulture population trends elsewhere in the world. For ag producers who are looking for ways to keep black vultures from preying on their newborn domestic animals. “We always like to advocate an integrated approach using a variety of tools.” Lee Homburg with USDA's Wildlife Services advocates first trying non-lethal means like harassment or habitat modification, Trying to think like a bird and make it unattractive, uninhabitable.”

That doesn't always work, right? I mean, sometimes the birds are going to be there whether you want them there or not, or they just don't care what you do. A more creative method involves making Effigies and essentially they are dummy dead birds or artificial or taxidermy birds that represent a bird that has died there. The effigy is meant to send out a message that this is not a good place for black vultures. I've always likened it to sending up a black flag on a pirate ship. You know, it's kind of a warning to stay away. So hopefully the birds associate the dead bretheren. Being there is not the place to be.