Medford, Ore. — The city of Medford is now seeking solutions for it’s growing wild turkey population after city officials receive complaints about the birds taking over neighborhoods.
Medford Police Corporal Trevor Arnold said code enforcement has received dozens of complaints in the past couple months.
“Some of the complaints we’ve had is there’s as many as 20-30 turkeys in one area,” he said.
Arnold said that many turkeys at once can be a major nuisance for homeowners. Issues with the wildlife include them landing and roosting on people’s homes, blocking traffic, leaving droppings, and destroying property.
But the city is limited in what it can do about the wild birds. Arnold works with code enforcement, and was tasked with researching the problem and possible solutions.
“Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife can’t give us permits to move the turkeys and transport them outside the city, and even if they could they’re probably going to make their way back,” Arnold said.
He said Medford could follow surrounding cities and propose an ordinance that would ban people from feeding the birds. The reason, he believes, more and more turkeys keep showing up in the same areas.
Arnold said the Sun Oaks community off Black Oak Drive have flocks known to do property damage. Neighbors call the birds a pain and invasive. But resident Larry Henderson doesn’t mind them roaming in his yard. He even feeds them to keep them coming back.
“We have become unpopular in the neighborhood,” Henderson said.
City council will have the final say on how to deal with the turkeys. Henderson said many of his neighbors already have their own way of trying to scare them off.
“They’ll hose them. I see people with pots and pans banging on them and clapping,” he said.
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