MOORHEAD — An abundance of turkeys has become a nuisance for Moorhead residents, so the City Council approved a plan Monday to relocate 75 of the birds to eastern South Dakota.
The council had three basic options for controlling the birds, according to Mike Oehler, area wildlife manager for the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources:
- Try to get people to stop feeding them.
- Bait and trap them with a “rocket net.”
- Allow a minimal hunting season.
The partnership with South Dakota Game, Fish and Parks that the council approved Monday would go forward with the rocket net option.
One big selling point: The relocation would benefit South Dakota’s turkey restoration plan, so all costs for trapping and moving the birds would be incurred by South Dakota Game, Fish and Parks.
South Dakota staff would use large nets deployed by rocket cannons to capture the turkeys.
The plan will require a Minnesota DNR permit as well as a wild turkey management plan, which the city would have to develop by Sept. 1. City residents will have an opportunity to participate in the development of the plan.
The council does not yet know an estimated date of turkey relocation.
