About 20 years ago, deer were considered a novelty in Kimberley. Residents enjoyed seeing them, many took upon themselves to feed them, and soon the urban deer population was very healthy indeed. Then began an effort to control the population that Kimberley Council still wrestles with. There was a controversial cull, a relocation trial is underway and a number of bylaws were aimed specifically at deer, including one with big fines for feeding.
And there is no definite solution for controlling the population in sight.
Now the Ministry of Forests, Lands and Natural Resources is warning that what happened with deer can happen with other species, such as wild turkeys.
There are wild turkeys in Kimberley, the most visible ones residing in Marysville.
Brennan Clarke, Senior Public Affairs Officer with the Ministry of Forests, Lands and Natural Resource Operations says that East Kootenay staff have suggested to Kimberley City Council that they amend their ‘don’t feed the deer bylaw’ to include other species, including wild turkeys.
“Staff in the region did suggest that the town amend its bylaw, which currently prohibits feeding of deer, to include other wildlife to keep wildlife “wild” and reduce habituation to people,” Clarke said. “Wildlife populations that are frequently fed by people can increase in size which can result in more conflicts with people.”
Wild turkeys are not native to western Canada. The only place in Canada where they are native is southern Ontario. All other populations have been introduced. In the Kootenays, turkeys were introduced to the Creston area in the 1960s and subsequently expanded throughout the region, according to Clarke.
“Kootenay turkey populations have fluctuated over time but appear to have increased over the past five years.”
As with any introduced species, wild turkeys can be in conflict with native species.
“There are ecological concerns with turkey populations since they can prey on species at risk (e.g., snakes), compete for habitat with native grouse, and cause grouse nest failure through egg dumping, Clarke said.
In a municipality, wild turkeys can cause property damage, ruin gardens and spread noxious weeds. They can also be aggressive.
According to the Department of Energy and Environmental Affairs in Massachusetts, wild turkeys have a pecking order and habituated birds may respond to you as they do to another turkey. The best defense against aggressive or persistent turkeys is to prevent the birds from becoming habituated in the first place by being bold to them. Everyone in the neighborhood must do the same; it will be ineffective if you do so only on your property. Each and every turkey must view all humans as dominant in the pecking order and respond to them as superiors rather than subjects. Habituated turkeys may attempt to dominate or attack people that the birds view as subordinates.”
As with deer, education is the key, Clarke says. People must be aware that feeding wild turkeys will lead to them becoming habituated and potentially aggressive.
“Hunting seasons in the Kootenays have been liberalized over time as populations have increased,” he said. “Provincial policy does not allow translocation of non-native species such as turkeys.
“Turkey conflicts are most often dealt with by providing the public with information about how to prevent and deal with conflicts.”