{"id":252198,"date":"2025-11-09T01:00:08","date_gmt":"2025-11-09T01:00:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/252198\/"},"modified":"2025-11-09T01:00:08","modified_gmt":"2025-11-09T01:00:08","slug":"us-government-to-shoot-down-450k-barred-owls-out-west-to-stave-off-rival-owls-extinction-dei-for-owls","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/252198\/","title":{"rendered":"US government to shoot down 450K barred owls out west to stave off rival owl&#8217;s extinction: &#8216;DEI for owls?&#8217;"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>DEI might still be alive and well on the West Coast.<\/p>\n<p>The US government has begun shooting down up to 450,000 barred owls across California, Oregon and Washington \u2014 in a controversial culling effort to thwart the extinction of a rival owl.<\/p>\n<p>The US Fish and Wildlife Service project to preserve the endangered spotted owl, finalized a year ago, should could cost taxpayers an estimated $1.35 billion over the next 30 years.<\/p>\n<p><img style=\"aspect-ratio:1.49926794;display:block\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" data-modal-image=\"37613157\" width=\"885\" height=\"590\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/barred-owl-seen-public-demonstration-115033459.jpg\" alt=\"A barred owl with dark eyes and a light beak, showing its mottled brown and white feathers against a soft yellow-green background.\" class=\"wp-image-37613157\"  \/>The culling has started already in northern California. NurPhoto via Getty Images<\/p>\n<p>The matter triggered a year-long ethical debate in Washington DC.<\/p>\n<p>Last month, Sen. John Kennedy (R-LA) tried blocking the plan by bringing the matter to a vote with a joint resolution, but the legislation failed to generate enough votes.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe barred owls are not hurting anybody,\u201d <a href=\"https:\/\/www.kennedy.senate.gov\/public\/2025\/10\/kennedy-urges-senate-to-block-owl-killing-rule-who-appointed-them-god\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\">Kennedy insisted<\/a>. \u201cThey\u2019re just doing what nature teaches them to do. We\u2019re going to change nature? We\u2019re going to control our environment to this extent? <\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe\u2019re going to pass DEI for owls?<\/p>\n<p>In addition to outcompeting the spotted owl, barred owls are known for their aggression \u2014 even attacking  humans.<\/p>\n<p>There\u2019s been an ongoing effort to save northern spotted owls, which were first listed as a threatened species in 1990.<\/p>\n<p>Non-native barred owls are believed to have been responsible for a 65% to 85% decline in spotted owl populations between 1995 and 2017.<\/p>\n<p><img style=\"aspect-ratio:1.49926794;display:block\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" data-modal-image=\"37613156\" width=\"885\" height=\"590\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/known-northern-barred-owl-striped-115033476.jpg\" alt=\"Two juvenile barred owls perched on a mossy tree branch.\" class=\"wp-image-37613156\"  \/>Barred owls have been taking over the spotted owl\u2019s nesting spots and hunting grounds. LightRocket via Getty Images<\/p>\n<p>Barred owls have been migrating west as they lost their habitats to rampant development.<\/p>\n<p>They are larger and more territorial than spotted owls, who are losing their nesting grounds and food sources to their rival.<\/p>\n<p>Individuals trained to identify members of the species will be hired to shoot them down.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"DEI might still be alive and well on the West Coast. The US government has begun shooting down&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":252199,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[26],"tags":[776,14756,21856,105020,90,56,54,55,1384,2866,803,4407],"class_list":["post-252198","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-wildlife","tag-california","tag-endangered-species","tag-oregon","tag-owls","tag-science","tag-uk","tag-united-kingdom","tag-unitedkingdom","tag-us-news","tag-washington","tag-washington-dc","tag-wildlife"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/252198","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=252198"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/252198\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/252199"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=252198"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=252198"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=252198"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}