KELOWNA 鈥� Tens of thousands of starlings will be killed annually across the Okanagan Valley for at least another three years in an effort to crack down on the bird that threatens the region鈥檚 orchards.
Local governments this fall are renewing their financial support for a control program that began a decade ago.
The latest to sign up was the District of Lake Country, between Kelowna and Vernon, where council this week approved a budget request of $1,600. 鈥淭he birds are a blight on agriculture, and given that Lake Country is over 40 per cent farming, this just seems like a no-brainer way to support our orchardists,鈥� Coun. Lisa Cameron said.
A total of $115,000 is spent each year to trap and gas starlings across the Okanagan, with an estimated 60,000 of the birds killed each year. But starlings are still estimated to cause $4聽million in damage annually to vineyards and orchards.
