Controversy over ridding wild turkeys from Gibson Jack road

Some residents on Gibson jack road in Pocatello are upset over the euthanization 24 turkeys that became a nuisance in the area. Pocatello Fish and Game captured the turkeys and donated them to the Idaho Food Bank. However, many believe that they could have relocated the turkeys instead of killing them.

Gibson Jack is known for its beautiful trails and excellent hiking. However, recently, it’s been known for its wild turkeys. Many deer signs line the road, but it’s the Turkeys, that have made the pastures, along with Gibson Jack Road their home.

Jim Betty, a resident near Gibson Jack and former Chapter President of the National Turkey Federation says, “wild turkeys are cool when there are 3 or 4 of them, they’re not cool when you got a 100 of them on your porch.”

The turkeys moved in shortly after the Charlotte fire back in 2012. The population grew over the past six years and now have become a nuisance to local residents. Idaho Fish and Game in Pocatello received calls on these wild turkeys on a consistent basis.

Zach Lockyer, Wildlife Manager for Southeast Region says, “Sometimes what we hear is that turkeys are getting into stored crops, just being a nuisance with their vocalizations, their roosting in trees and rooftops, and on properties, they scratch things out, they defecate, so they can be a real pain.”

As a result, 24 turkeys were captured, euthanized and the meat was donated to the Idaho Food Bank. However, Jim Betty, Former Ch. Pres of National Turkey Federation believes they could have handled the situation better

“What happened to the turkeys, didn’t need to happen the way it did. I would have liked to see more communication between the local chapter and the fish and game department. We have had a very good working relationship with the fish and game department. This seemed to happen a little bit on the sly.”

However, Fish and Game say the turkeys would not have survived in the wild with a limited food source. The turkeys have adapted living off food within the pastures. “Taking them far away from people, where food is limited, their chances of survival would be pretty low and the fact that its winter and we’re limited in the places where we can release them.”

But that’s where the disagreement begins.

Betty says, “that’s not true… this is a great time of year if you’ve trapped birds, what better time of year when there’s not a lot of snow so they can go out and forage on their own.”

Fish and game responded, “the conditions were not right for that so we used a different tool, it was 24 birds, it was not massive numbers, and the meat went to a good cause.”

There were approximately 80 birds up Gibson Jack road. There are currently around 60 birds that are still living off the land.