Thursday, October 30, 2025

THE DUMBEST THING POSSIBLE THAT WON'T WORK

Plans to kill half a million owls in three US states sparks outrage in Congress

By Stacy Liberatore

Daily Mail

Oct 30, 2025

Republican Senator John Kennedy blasted parts of the US government for targeting so many birds unnecessarily, calling it, in his words, 'the dumbest thing possible that won't work'

A Biden-era plan to kill nearly 500,000 owls is moving forward despite widespread criticism from officials who say it is unnecessary and unlikely to succeed.

The initiative will see trained hunters unleashed in California, Oregon and Washington to take out Barred Owls because they are 'better hunters' and are outcompeting the native Spotted Owl. The former originates from eastern North America.

These hunters would broadcast Barred Owl territorial calls to attract the birds and shoot on sight, but in areas where firearm use is inadvisable, the protocol would be to capture and euthanize the creature.

Republican Senator John Kennedy blasted parts of the US government for targeting so many birds unnecessarily, calling it, in his words, 'the dumbest thing possible that won't work.'

'The Department of Interior says it wants to kill over 10 percent of the Barred owl population because the Barred owl is a better hunter than the Spotted owl and they want to tip the scales of nature in favor of the spotted owl,' said Kennedy.

'Even though the Spotted Owl is not on the endangered species list, my resolution, which will be voted on tomorrow, will stop this nonsense.'

The strategy to save one species has also sparked outrage among 75 groups, which claimed such actions could disrupt the wildlife and cause 'mistaken-identity kills.'

To block the owl-culling plan, Congress must pass a joint resolution signed by President Trump, which would bar the agency from issuing a similar rule without explicit approval.

Kennedy spoke on the Senate floor, standing between images of the Spotted and Barred Owls, along with a shot of the Looney Tunes character Elmer Fudd.

'There are 19 species or kinds of owls in the United States. Did you know that? 19. I want to talk about two of them. The spotted owl and the barred owl. Both of them are God's creatures,' he said.

'The federal government, which can't even deliver the mail when it has the address right there on the front, and more specifically, the Department of the Interior, has promulgated a rule, and this rule says that unless Congress stops them, they're going to hire hunters right here to kill 453,000 barred owls.

'There are only four million in the United States, but the Department of Interior wants to kill 453,000 male Barred Owls, daddy barred owls, and baby barred owls because the Department of Interior thinks that the Barred Owl is a better hunter than the spotted owl.'

The two owls look very similar, with both having rounded heads, brown and white-colored bodies, and black eyes and are only distinguished by their slight size difference and the colors of their beaks.

Spotted owls measure about 1.5 feet in length and have a wingspan of up to four feet, while barred owls are bigger, standing about two feet tall with a wingspan of up to four feet.

Barred owls started migrating to the forests of Washington, Oregon and Northern California from their native region in the northeastern US in the early 1900s due to climate change and deforestation.

In 1990, the spotted owl was added to the Endangered Species Act because of habitat loss. Now, the migration of the barred owl over the past century has allegedly worsened the situation.

The US Fish and Wildlife Service has proposed culling 500,000 Barred Owls that are encroaching on spotted owls' territory

Organizations led by Animal Wellness Action and the Center for a Humane Economy penned a letter to Interior Secretary Deborah Haaland on Monday, accusing her of a 'reckless' plan to shoot down 500,000 barred owls over the next 30 years.

Issues first arose in the late 1980s and 1990s when environmentalists fought loggers who were trying to harvest timber in the Northwest forests - the conflict became known as the Timber Wars.

During this time, the Spotted Owl, which lived in the old trees, started dwindling and leading to protections for the bird and its habitat.

Last week, Politico's E&E News reported that Kennedy said Interior Secretary Doug Burgum asked him to stand down from his effort to stop the owl-killing plan. The legislator told the outlet he would charge ahead anyway.

'I don't think the federal government ought to be telling God, nature, whatever you believe in, in this one can exist, this one can't,' Kennedy told E&E.

'The barred owl is not the first species that has ever moved its territory, and it won't be the last.'

The plan was due to Barred Owls out competing Spotted Owls (pictured)

Travis Joseph, president and chief executive of the American Forest Resource Council, told the outlet: 'It's strange that a Republican in the south is taking on the owl issue, specifically, when its consequences will impact western Oregon managed by the Bureau of Land Management timber sales.

'It will lead to lower revenues for counties, it will impact jobs and it will put them on a trajectory towards extinction.'

The American Forest Resource Council, a trade association representing mills, loggers, lumber buyers and other stakeholders in the region, is on board with the cull, as avoiding it would slow down timber harvesting in western Oregon managed by the Bureau of Land Management.

Travis Joseph, president and chief executive of the organization, said that scrapping the plan would slow timber harvesting across about 2.6 million acres of western

Oregon forest managed by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM), whose resource plans depend on the barred owl cull moving forward.

'It's strange that a Republican in the south is taking on the owl issue, specifically, when its consequences will impact western Oregon BLM timber sales,' Joseph said in an interview.