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Cache Valley towns facing turkey takeover

Posted at 4:50 PM, Feb 06, 2013
and last updated 2013-02-07 01:20:03-05

CACHE COUNTY, Utah - Wild turkeys have invaded Cache County towns, and now they're looking for a solution to the problem.

Corrie Wallace, Land Owner Assistant Specialist for Cache, Box Elder and Rich Counties with the Division of Wildlife Resources, says that the turkeys have invaded Mendon, Paradise, Avon, Clarkston and Nibley.

The turkey takeover started five years ago with just a few birds roaming the streets, but now there are hundreds, and they can be aggressive.

The heavy snow drove the birds closer to homes, and some people are feeding them, making the area seem more like home.

Mendon resident Jason Christensen says they're sick of the animals, and something needs to be done.

"Either they need to have an increase in hunting permits or something. Or two seasons to control the numbers," Christensen said. "Take the turkeys away. Take them all."

But Wade Quinlan, also from Mendon, doesn't mind hundreds of turkeys roaming his 3 acres, and he admits to feeding the animals. But the feed goes into a trap, so Wallace and her crew can take them out of the city.

"What we are doing is trapping them with alive trap where the birds will go in and they can't figure out how to get back out. Then we relocate them to areas where there are not very many turkeys," Wallace said.

Wallace tags the animals to see if they'll migrate back to Mendon and other Cache Valley cities.