US to Intensify Barred Owl Cull to Protect Native Species

Plan aims to remove up to 452,000 barred owls over 30 years to save imperiled spotted owls and other wildlife.

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service will target barred owls across 23,000 square miles in California, Oregon, and Washington.
The initiative seeks to halt the decline of northern and California spotted owls, which are threatened by barred owls.
Barred owls, native to eastern North America, have displaced many native owl species since appearing in the Pacific Northwest in the 1970s.
The plan has sparked debate among wildlife advocates, with some supporting it and others calling it a diversion from habitat preservation.
Alternative methods like capturing and euthanizing barred owls were deemed too costly or impractical.