An overabundance of turkeys within Buffalo city limits means pooped-on cars, pecked-on gardens and yards, and waiting at an otherwise empty intersection for the birds to cross the road.

Terry Asay, the city’s building inspector and the person in charge of the planning department, has heard these complaints from residents for as long as he can remember. It’s come up again recently, he said, with as many as 40 turkeys congregating in a yard at one time, leaving their droppings and causing noise disturbances.

“They’re a messy animal,” Asay said. “There are a lot of them and they’re gaining in number, you can tell. They start flocking together.”

Because turkeys are a game animal, there’s not much the city can do about it. Its only recourse is changing city ordinance to include game birds in the list of animals that residents aren’t allowed to feed.

“There are some people out there that love them and that’s fine, but they’re feeding them and they tend to flock in one area,” Asay said.

Asay said he passes complaints on to the Wyoming Game and Fish Department, which has jurisdiction over game animals. And Buffalo game warden Jim Seeman has received his fair share of complaints too.

Game and Fish’s remedy to the problem is trapping turkeys and relocating them. Two years ago, the agency had permission from Buffalo Golf Course to trap turkeys on the premises.

“We need a big space where we can bait them under our nets,” Seeman said. “It means putting bait out and the net’s huge, so we need an adequate space to set up.”

Last winter, the birds didn’t congregate in an area that would be conducive to trapping, Seeman said. During the trapping operation two years ago, Game and Fish caught roughly 60 turkeys. Those turkeys were relocated 40 miles north of town and did not return.

“It took a few weeks to get them used to going under the nets to where they are not skittish,” Seeman said. “Once you drop the net, you might catch 20 and the next time they’re real skittish.” 

The feces these turkeys leave behind is not only annoying but also possibly harmful for dogs. Histoplasmosis is a fungal infection that could be transmitted to dogs if they eat bird poop. Eating bird droppings can also expose dogs to bacteria such as salmonella, resulting in vomiting, diarrhea and other health problems, according to Pet MD.

Statewide, there is no ban on feeding wildlife, though the city of Buffalo does ban the feeding of big game and fur-bearing species.

There are myriad problems associated with feeding wildlife, according to the Game and Fish.

In a press release earlier this year, the state agency said that though humans may offer food to “help” wildlife through harsh winter conditions or because they enjoy watching wildlife, feeding wildlife can create problems for the animals and people.

“As many Wyoming residents are finding out, private feeding of wildlife can cause serious problems,” the department said. “Each year there are many examples of how a well-meaning gesture to ‘help’ wildlife can actually lead to their demise.”

Humans feeding wildlife can also contribute to the spread of disease.

“Artificial feeding of wildlife generally concentrates the animals in a small area,” Game and Fish said. “These conditions are ripe for diseases and parasites to be readily spread from one animal to the next and throughout a whole herd. If the animals do not die on their own, Wyoming Game and Fish field personnel are often called to respond to sick animals that have to be put down anyway.”

Congregating animals can also lure predators, such as coyotes and mountain lions, into the area.

Whether Game and Fish traps turkeys within the city limits this year will depend on whether the birds are in a large, open space where they can do so, Seeman said. That would occur in roughly December or January.

In the meantime, the Humane Society recommends that residents rid their premises of wild turkeys, first and foremost, by not feeding them. For those that linger, scaring them off by making loud noises or spraying them with water is also recommended.