25th District Manitowoc Assemblyman Paul Tittl is looking at introduce a bill to allow hunters to hunt Sandhill Cranes.
Tittl says a study through the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources allows a hunt for an animal when it gets above a certain number.
The latest estimates show that there were 30,000 sand hill cranes in the state several years ago, and 10,000 is the minimum to allow for a hunt.
The Manitowoc Republican says the birds are a problem for farmers because they eat newly planted corn.
“They pull up the seeds,” he explains. “When it’s a little seedling maybe about two inches big, there’s still a seed on the bottom and they pull it out and they then up eating the seeds and destroying a field.”
There is a coating put on the seeds so the cranes will not like the taste, but Tittl says if they spit the coated seeds out, the birds just keep looking for seeds.
He says the Wisconsin Department of Fish and Wildlife will have to approve the hunt even if legislation is passed.
Tittl says that means there wouldn’t be a hunt until for another two years.
