(JP) Crows no longer ruling the roost

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http://www.asahi.com/english/national/K2002042600513.html

 

Crows no longer ruling the roost

 

The Asahi Shimbun

 

Tokyo metropolitan government officials have something

to crow about.

 

According to figures on the metropolitan government's

campaign to eliminate the pesky creatures from the

capital, officials are winning the war.

 

Between December and the end of March, 4,210

crows-more than 10 percent of Tokyo's estimated 37,000

crows-had been captured. It was not disclosed what

happened to them.

 

Metropolitan officials dispatched to catch crows laid

100 traps at zoos and parks-both favored crow

habitats-across the capital as part of the

40-million-yen project.

 

The traps, set in December and January in Yoyogi Park,

Ueno Zoological Gardens and Inokashira Park among

other places, used dog food as the main bait, although

mayonnaise and lard were also used after officials

discovered the birds have a taste for fatty foods,

too.

 

But while metropolitan government officials are busy

preening over the project's success, a handful of

experts disputed the results.

 

According to the experts, many of the captured crows

were too young to breed, so removing them will have

little impact on curbing the crow population.

 

Metropolitan government officials disagreed.

 

``So many young birds were caught and they would soon

have been able to breed. This is significant,'' a

government official said.

 

No more traps will be set for the time being, however,

because as crow breeding season sets in, the birds

stop moving in flocks, making the traps all but

useless, officials said. The project will be resumed

in the fall, with an additional 20 traps.

 

For now, officials employed as crow catchers will turn

their attentions to removing nests and chicks.

 

Metropolitan government officials adopted a two-track

approach to the crow problem, setting up traps to

capture the birds and reducing the amount of street

garbage, which attracts the creatures.

 

Officials are urging ward offices in Tokyo to cut the

volume of refuse and adopt new garbage disposal

methods, such as collecting garbage at night and

promoting the use of nets, which prevent crows from

ripping open translucent bags.(IHT/Asahi: April

26,2002)

 

(04/26)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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