While the Thanksgiving holiday is over, New Jersey residents should be grateful that their dealings with turkeys ended at the dining room table. People in other communities are not quite so lucky and will probably have to continue to fear animal bites from wild turkeys long after the holiday feast.
Some people in a state close to New Jersey have reported several wild turkey attacks, and the incidents are on the rise. One person complained that a band of wild turkeys first surrounded her car and then her house. Eventually, one of them attacked her, scratching her around the neck.
An animal control officer also reported that he has to work diligently to keep the wild turkeys away from school property so that they do not threaten the students.
Authorities are encouraging those who encounter these birds to walk on the side of the street opposite them. If a turkey approaches in an aggressive manner, a person should either use water to squirt the turkeys or frighten them off with noises. Authorities discourage onlookers from taking pictures or feeding the birds, as that could cause the turkeys’ tempers to flare.
New Jersey also has a substantial population of wild turkeys, so it is quite possible that incident similar to this may happen in this state. This story should serve as a reminder to animal lovers that given their potentially aggressive tendencies, it is probably not a good idea for one to harbor or keep a wild turkey for any reason.
If one chooses to do so, and another person sustains a personal injury because that turkey attacked him or her, then that person may seek negligence compensation from the ones who choose to harbor an untamed bird in the first place.
Source: Boston Globe, “Complaints about turkey attacks on the rise in Brookline,” Bobby Sisk, Nov. 21, 2012
