These turkeys were hanging around Southwest 12th Avenue in November 2019.
Wild turkeys in Albany neighborhoods are, in the words of a proposed city ordinance, an “ongoing condition” and a public nuisance that must be stopped.
To that end, the city council is being asked to prohibit the feeding of wildlife. “Wildlife” in this case covers animals not usually considered domesticated including “but not limited to” nutria, coyotes, deer, foxes, groundhogs, opossums, raccoons, skunks and, of course, turkeys.
Feeding songbirds and waterfowl would still be allowed. But the ordinance says it should be done to avoid access to the feed by other wildlife.
Several small flocks of wild turkeys made the rounds of Albany neighborhoods last fall, and the city advised people not to feed them lest they stick around and cause a problem with their droppings. Now the thinking at City Hall seems to be that advice is not enough and a prohibition is what the city needs.
The council will consider the proposed ordinance at a work session Monday afternoon (4 p.m. at City Hall). Then the proposal is on the council’s Wednesday night agenda for adoption. If it becomes law, people caught feeding wildlife could be cited for an infraction. (hh)
If people don’t want wild turkeys in our neighborhoods, wouldn’t it be easier and better to just kill and eat them? Is it really more humane to try to starve them … and how successful is the starvation approach likely to be anyway?
Sounds good, should be against the law to starve the poor lil guys
Do we have our own Deer crossing Donna? One knows the people who come up with this idiocy are not locals.
Re: Proposed Draconian Ordinance
If a human is caught handing a wild turkey, or a Nutria something of value (edible or cash) out of an automobile window, will that Albany human face legal ramifications as a result of this law? Will the statute apply to non-residents as well? Perhaps the Council ought seek an opinion from the City Attorney before going down this road.
“Feeding songbirds and waterfowl would still be allowed.” I see. How very thoughtful and generous of the city council members to allow citizens the freedom to be free, that is, until they decide those also will be verboten, subject to their whims at the moment. Please stop the micromanaging.
This is laughable. Who’s going to inforce this? No disrespect but, it seems like APD aren’t out giving many driving infractions i.e. running red lights, speeding or faulty equipment yet the city leaders think APD have the time or the will to go give people a citation for feeding wildlife? Turkeys should be picked up and taken out to the country and released or better yet, trap and kill them then feed the homeless. Wouldn’t that be more beneficial than people calling into dispatch to report someone feeding them? Do the police not have to see this occurring in order to cite them? If so, is not going to happen “imo”. Do they not have more important things to do let’s say, “catching child molesters, abusers, thieves, murderers”? If the turkeys had taken up in “precious downtown” this would have been addressed and taken care of immediately.
Please use your brain when thinking. Laws like this aren’t to give the PD something “to go do,” it’s to give them a tool so that when someone like you (presumably a citizen of Albany) calls to complain about the issue, should there be an opportunity to address it by applying the law to a neighbor or neighbors, the officer will have something to say other than “I’m sorry, there’s nothing I can do.” So, which is it? Do you want them to have a means of enforcement or do you want them to keep saying “I’m sorry,…?” People around here seem to get pissed off at both.
Presuming there is a problem, you’re spot on! :
“Do you want them to have a means of enforcement or do you want them to keep saying “I’m sorry,…?” People around here seem to get pissed off at both.”
Council will *never* be able to please everyone – and they shouldn’t try inasmuch as it’s an impossible task. Politics is fun – try it sometime. :-)
Good
Stop feeding turkeys…..Well lets end CARA!
We have had turkey in our yard and neighborhood almost every year since we moved here 4yrs ago. They dont do any damage, here for only a few days and we love it and so do the neighbors around us. Explain the difference between feeding the wild ducks, geese, (Waverly lake for example) or song birds and woodpeckers and feeding the occasional turkey in the yard. They are all wild and all birds.
Stunning. Watching a guy dedicateimg on sidewalk by underpass downtown and a police vehicle pulled up besides me. I pointed over at guy and police car kept going by. So now we will go after the money by citing people feeding turkeys. Revenue thru fines and fees. Stunning
“dedicateimg” — a new euphemism, no doubt.
Well I live on Lakewood SW and they are really a pain in the ——!! They crap all over my driveway and sidewalks the fly up on my newly stained fence and crap down it, really !!! I think killing and feeding them to the homeless is a great idea, the mail people and any truck delivery service fights them from chasing and trying to get get their auto/trucks
Would much rather have turkey manure around the streets than human excrement. Look around people…. and don’t step in “it” or you’ll be pisses at the Jerk who deposited the turd on the sidewalk. The homeless population in this city is far more detrimental than a bunch of ‘ol turkeys as I have seen them defile streets and parks by defecating, urinating and vomiting in places where people are supposed to congregate and enjoy. Concept: Don’t feed the turkeys and they will leave. Same thing goes for….You guessed it!
Run em’ all outta town.
This idea is as stupid as the ordinance against saving rainwater. I love seeing those turkeys in my neighborhood. They are like chickens…they are eating bugs and seeds off the ground. As for killing and cooking them….they look tough and stringy. Not exactly Butterballs.
What ordinance against saving rainwater?
Hasso:
This is likely related to a long running conversation in the State of Colorado about homeowners “stealing” irrigation water in a place where all water is over-allocated. But, turns out, rainwater harvest is is somewhat regulated in Oregon. See: https://worldwaterreserve.com/rainwater-harvesting/is-it-illegal-to-collect-rainwater/
Wow, I thought feeding wildlife was already against the law…. oh wait it is. So enforcement might help. However once again the city council Is wasting time with this instead of fixing the other more important stuff going on. Things like human waste on the streets homlessness ect
If you think it’s illegal under Oregon law to feed wildlife, you might cite the statute that says so. The only one I found in a cursory search, ORS 496.731, says law officers can give a person a written notice telling them to stop feeding wildlife within two days. But it doesn’t say the feeding is illegal.
With such an open ended definition of wildlife, shame on everyone who plants flowers that feed bees.