OXNARD : Golf Course Changes Tactic to Spare Birds
The city of Oxnard will replace fishing lines strung around the ponds of River Ridge Golf Course with more visible lines with flags hanging from them, city officials said last week.
The nearly invisible fishing lines were installed around golf course ponds to scare off sea gulls. But animal rights activists have complained that the strings maim birds.
Golfers and residents of area homes counter that birds cause serious problems with their droppings.
The golf course was built on top of a former waste dump and hundreds of birds--especially gulls, coots and ducks--still frequent the site. Several birds have been seen recently around the ponds limping, hopping on one leg, or with their wings torn.
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service last month threatened the Oxnard City Council with fines and jail terms unless the fishing lines were taken down.
Fish and Wildlife officials “looked at the lines and said that, in their opinion, a more visible string was needed,” said city parks Supt. Michael Henderson.
Henderson said the new strings, which will be colored and marked with silver survey tapes, will be installed within the next three weeks. But Yvonne Miles, chairwoman of Concerned People for Animals, said the filament lines used at the course violate the federal Migratory Bird Treaty Act and should be taken down immediately.
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