Wisconsin Corn Damage from Sandhill Cranes Calls for Hunt

The growing number of sandhill cranes from misguided attempts to boost the population, has done just that in Wisconsin, resulting in a growing amount of corn crop damage as a consequence.

That has led to the introduction of a bill by a Wisconsin lawmaker, which would allow a hunt of the birds to thin the population and corn damage.

According to the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources, it is estimated the sandhill crane is now the most abundant crane species in the world, numbering at about 600,000.

In what is called the eastern population, Wisconsin, along with Michigan, in the United States, and Ontario, Canada, to the north, are now the major nesting grounds of the prolific bird. the eastern population is estimated to be at about 70,000. Of that, Wisconsin has about 25,000 of them within its borders.

Many crane advocates want no management whatsoever, which is of course a naive and uneducated outlook. All animal populations must be carefully managed so things like the devastation of corn by the sandhill crane is kept to a minimum.

Cranes eat corn seed an young stocks. Southern Wisconsin landowners were issued 55 permits, according to the United States Department of Agriculture.

Now thirteen states in the U.S. have instituted crane hunts.