WASHINGTON, DC—Citing monthly counts for livestock of various types for the year, the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) has announced a “troubling” trend in the domesticated turkey population. The sharp decline, which started in September and has continued into November, includes specimens from nearly every weight class, such as roasters (5-9 pounds), hens (8-18 pounds), and toms (up to about 24 pounds). While the reasons for the turkey die-off remain unknown, the Secretary of Agriculture, Sonny Perdue, offered some theories.
“What we’re looking at appears to be similar to the colony collapse disorder of bees,” Secretary Perdue said. “It’s basically a widespread and rapid decline in a species’ population. As with the bees, there may be a sort of ‘rafter collapse disorder’ for turkeys, affecting both managed and wild populations, though at the USDA we deal mostly with the domesticated kind. There isn’t enough evidence yet to establish the cause or causes of the decline but, based on our knowledge of bees, we have some working theories. And it is possible that these are all contributing factors, though each is bad enough on its own.
“First, there may be excessive pesticides in their non-organic food sources or even in the environments where these here gobblers find themselves. We know that neonicotinoids are particularly bad for bees, so it could be that this or another pesticide may be just as bad for the birds. Even if the pesticides themselves don’t kill off the bees or birds, they may weaken them toward diseases carried by insects and other animal life. We have found this to be the case with mites, who may pass on pathogens to weakened bees.
“Second, loss of habitat may contribute to the decline in turkey and bee numbers as rural areas with additional food sources become scarcer. It is also possible that farmers have less food available for domesticated turkeys but that seems less likely.
“Third, climate change is a big issue. A fall that’s colder-than-usual, like an early frost, could be freezing these turkeys to death; on the bright side of things, they could probably still be sold, so it’s not a complete waste in the short term. On the other hand, a warmer fall could also cause heat exhaustion for the critters. With bees, the issue is the change in plant blooming schedules caused by temperature shifts.”
Before closing, Secretary Perdue added that 42 percent of bee colonies in the United States collapsed in 2015. He warned that should the turkey die-off continue at the current rate, we may be looking at the endangerment and even extinction of both species. He closed his remarks by wishing everyone a happy Thanksgiving.