Utah officials announced Tuesday that they will go ahead with plans for the first-ever crow hunt in the state despite protests from wildlife activists.
Voted in 3-2 by a state wildlife board on Tuesday, the crow hunt will be allowed this coming September and then again between Dec. 1 and Feb. 28 each year, Reuters reported.
According to state rules, sport hunters have to eat the birds that they kill, but environmental activists fighting the hunt don't think that will actually happen.
"No one believes that most hunters will eat the crows ... most will not," said Sharon St. Joan of Kanab, as quoted by Reuters. "They will be left in the fields with other dead and dying birds. This is the worst kind of wanton waste of wildlife and it's against the principles of ethical hunting."
The hunt was approved as part of efforts to control the number of crows in the area, which is believed to have tripled during the last three years. The large, black birds are loud and messy, prompting authorities to take measures to contain the growing population.
Bird enthusiasts have said that officials haven't given sufficient reason to justify the hunt.
"We'd like to see some sort of scientific study, rather than anecdotal evidence to prove this hunt is necessary and/or beneficial," said activist Carl Ingwell, co-founder of Utah Birders, a group that leads birdwatching field trips.
Under the crow hunt rules, sport hunters can kill as many as 10 birds per day, while farmers and ranchers will be allowed to take down birds that damage their crops.
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