Gwinnett County's vulture eviction began with a bang Tuesday night.
Several bangs, to be exact.
The 250 or so vultures taking up residence at Lawrenceville’s Rhodes Jordan Park, and their potentially dangerous roost near the eastern end of the county’s Briscoe Field airport, first caught the attention of officials about 18 months ago. Since then, they have tried lighter pyrotechnics, lasers, decoys and wildlife-proof trash cans to scare the vultures off for good, but to no avail.
Rhodes Jordan Park closed around 4:15 p.m., but the commotion — sporadic sounds reminiscent of shotgun blasts and large bottle rockets — didn’t start until shortly after 6 p.m.
The efficacy was unclear. Weather conditions and the closure of the 162-acre park made visibility difficult, but no fleeing vultures were spotted in the immediate aftermath.
The explosions and closures were expected to continue between 4:15 to 7:15 p.m. Wednesday and Thursday. The vultures are protected under federal law, but the county has a permit to kill up to five of them. The U.S. Department of Agriculture could kill more if it deems it necessary.
“Our goal, first and foremost, is stewardship of public lands,” Mark Patterson, conservation parks operation coordinator for the Gwinnett Parks and Recreation Department, previously told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. “The idea behind this was not just something that was cooked up overnight. We’ve spent well over 18 months trying different alternatives. It really boils down to the need for creating a safer flight zone for the airport.”
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