Group Calls for Crane Hunting — Birds Wiping Out Food Supplies, Officials Say

NASHVILLE – Tennessee wildlife officials say it’s necessary to allow hunting of migratory sandhill cranes that have wiped out food supplies for ducks and geese.

The 4-foot-tall birds have grown in number at the Hiwassee Wildlife Refuge in East Tennessee, where up to 15,000 stop and rest while migrating for the winter.

Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency officials say the birds are responsible for clearing out food supplies planted through a program for ducks and geese.

“They’ve gotten to a point where we feel it necessary to pursue a hunting season,” Mike Butler, head of the nonprofit Tennessee Wildlife Federation, told the TWRA commission on Wednesday.

Greg Wathen, TWRA’s chief of wildlife, says the agency has supported the idea for years, though crane hunting wouldn’t likely be legal in Tennessee for some time. The state must get approval from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, among other agencies.

A dozen states, mainly in the Midwest, and parts of Canada currently allow sandhill crane hunting.

In Tennessee, thousands of people come to see the dusky-colored cranes at a weekend gathering each year at the Hiwassee Refuge – one of the largest wildlife viewing events in the state.

In Wisconsin, an effort to open hunting on the species failed in the state legislature a few years ago after public outcry from people who took part in an annual count of the birds in Wisconsin, said Ann Burke, a spokeswoman for the International Crane Foundation.

The state’s major birding group, the Tennessee Ornithological Society, has discussed the possibility of hunting the cranes but hasn’t taken a stand on the issue, said president Richard Connors.

Conners noted that endangered whooping cranes tend to pack in with sandhills on migrations and could be in danger if sandhills are allowed to be hunted.

There are only about 500 whoopers in the world, many in captivity.

“If it’s open season on sandhill cranes, that would leave the endangered whooping crane sort of in harm’s way,” he said.

Originally published by Associated Press .

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