Activists Protest Shooting of Coots : Oxnard: City officials fire blanks and live ammunition at the migratory birds, which descend on the River Ridge Golf Course every year, making parts of it unplayable.

Shotgun fire shattered the normally placid environs of the River Ridge Golf Course on Tuesday morning as Oxnard city officials started their annual attempt to eradicate migratory coots from the course.

Nearby, about a dozen animal rights activists gathered to protest the shooting, waving placards and shouting as city workers prepared to take aim at the slate gray-colored birds.

Officials at the city-owned facility say that each year the small duck-like birds--also known as mud hens--descend on the course, making parts of it unplayable due to the birds’ rooting for worms and nearly covering some of the finely manicured greens with droppings.

As officials fired on the birds with live ammunition and blanks, one of the animal rights activists briefly held up the operation, boarding a small inflatable raft and rowing to the center of an artificial lake at the 14th green.

Lorna Casey of Granada Hills rowed back to shore after hearing that city employees began using live rounds near artificial lakes at holes No. 11 and No. 12. The city closed off holes No. 9 through 18 to the public during the operation.

Although Casey was not arrested or cited, Oxnard police said they would refer the case to the district attorney for possible trespassing charges.

Casey said she also protested last year, when she grabbed a shotgun from one of the city workers.

“I think what’s happening here is a cruel practice and is one that should be stopped,” said Casey, whose mother lives near the course. “I didn’t know what they were going to do with me out in the boat, to tell you the truth--I just hoped to stop the killings.”

While Casey’s protest brought the eradication effort to a temporary standstill on the 14th hole, city employees killed about 30 of the birds elsewhere on the course. Later in the morning, officials returned to hole No. 14 and began shooting shotgun shell blanks or “cracker shells” near the birds, which would temporarily take flight, settling back on the fairway only a few minutes later near their original location.

Using deadly force against the birds was the city’s last option in dealing with the creatures, said Michael Henderson, the city’s superintendent of parks and facilities.

“It seems that if a few aren’t killed they don’t take the hint,” Henderson said, adding that during a single migrating season--September through April--as many as 10,000 of the birds may stop off at the course.

“Believe me, this is not something we want to do, but feel we have to do,” Henderson said. “At this point, we have tried just about everything there is to try, short of shooting them. Still, we plan on shooting as few of them as possible.”

Henderson said the city has a U.S. Department of Fish and Wildlife permit to shoot as many as 400 of the birds. The permit expires April 30.

During Casey’s waterborne protest, she was joined by about a dozen animal rights activists who decried the operation.

“The city is acting like barbarians,” said Harry Naughton, an observer for the Ventura County Humane Society. “There has to be an alternative other than just shooting them.”

Echoing Naughton was Dorothy Done, a spokeswoman for the Ventura County chapter of the People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals.

“It’s ironic that the city’s own logo has a bird in it and yet they are here doing this,” Done said. “I think that they should cease this shooting and rethink how to handle this problem. We would be glad to help them.”

Longtime River Ridge golfer Dan Tullio said the killing of the coots was a necessary task.

“When I plunk my money down for greens fees, I think that I should be able to play all the holes, not just part of them,” Tullio said. “If there was another way than shooting them, I support it. But I think this may be the most effective approach.”

Coot Facts

The American coot, also known as the mud hen, has a migratory range from Canada to South America, according to the Audubon Society. The migrating season lasts generally from September to April. The bird typically is plump, about 13 to 16 inches long and slate-gray in color, with a white bill and dull red-tipped feathers on its belly.

The coot is often found on or near fresh water. In winter, the bird can be found near both fresh- and saltwater environments. It feeds on grasses, various plant materials, small fish and tadpoles. The coot’s nest is constructed of reeds and other aquatic plant materials, and is found on the water anchored to reeds.