In 2005, black vultures congregated in huge flocks in Dutch Gap, a wilderness area south of Richmond, Virginia next door to the most polluting power plant in Virginia, operated by Dominion Virginia Power. They defecated on vehicles, causing massive cleanup jobs and in some cases damage to cars, and they defecated on parts of the Virginia Power facility. So the USDA, Chesterfield County, and Virginia Power collaborated to kill 400 of the vultures, by trapping them and then shooting them, thus causing the Great Black Vulture Massacre of 2005.
Now I hear they are going to do it again, and now we are going to have the Great Black Vulture Massacre of 2007. I got this communication from Dawn Wilson of Henrico County:
As of this morning, there is a baited trap currently set up at Dutch gap. I don't know exactly when it was set up, but it is being utilized to attract the vultures as i write this, to get them "comfortable" and "familiar" in heading into the trap. In 2005, it was baited with deer carcasses, so I would assume the same methods are being employed. Once the operators decide to "spring" the trap, each bird therein will be shot and killed with a .22 rifle. Then they'll empty it and start again the next day and the next and... Until their "harvest" goal has been met (it was previously 400 birds).
What particularly irks me about this massacre is the goal that has to be made. It reminds me of goals or quotas for police in catching speeders. What if there aren't 400 birds? Are they going to kill every one of them? And does this solve the problem? Evidently the 2005 Massacre didn't. It's a case of doing something the same way, and you get the same results. Isn't there a better way of solving the problem? Is killing wildlife the only way that the defecation problem can be solved? Are we going to have the Great Black Vulture Massacre of 2009?
I think that the USDA, Chesterfield County, and Virginia should reconsider this killing. Why are the black vultures there? There must be food from something. Maybe stricter regulations about cleaning up after you use the Dutch Gap facility is what's called for. Maybe some other animals are dying, producing carcasses which attract the vultures. If so, why are they dying? Is it due to emissions from the power plant? There are a lot of issues to be considered here, and I call upon these three agencies to postpone their killing until a better strategy for dealing with the problem is found.
