In an effort to rescue the threatened spotted owl from potential extinction, U.S. wildlife officials are proposing a new plan to enlist trained shooters into the dense forests of the West Coast to kill around 450,000 barred owls that are crowding spotted owls out of their habitats. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service announced its plan on Wednesday, July 3, in an attempt to bring back the declining spotted owl populations in Oregon, Washington state and California.
Documents obtained by The Associated Press indicate that thousands of barred owls would be shot three decades after the owls from the eastern U.S. invaded the West Coast habitat of the northern spotted owl and California spotted owl.
Spotted owls are smaller than barred owls and have been incapable of competing because barred owls require less space and have more offspring than spotted owls.
Previous attempts to save spotted owls largely focused on preventing deforestation due to logging. However, with the migration of barred owls into the territory, a new challenge has presented itself in protecting the spotted owl species.
“Without actively managing barred owls, northern spotted owls will likely go extinct in all or the majority of their range, despite decades of collaborative conservation efforts,” Fish and Wildlife Service Oregon state supervisor Kessina Lee said
However, the idea of killing one species of owl to save another is dividing wildlife experts.
Proponents of the new plan said that it is necessary because barred owls “don’t belong” on the West Coast and estimate that the controlled shootings would eliminate less than 1% of the barred owl’s total population.
Opponents challenge the argument that barred owls don’t belong on the West Coast, pointing to their migration as a natural phenomenon.
Now, with the proposal out in the public, there will be a 30-day comment period before a final decision is made by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. If approved, the hunting by trained professional shooters would take place in the spring of 2025.
