This blog post was updated on October 15, 2018.
After 15 years, JFK Airport will soon say goodbye to its resident falconers.
For a decade and a half the trainers and their birds patrolled the runways, warding off smaller birds that could potentially enter the flight paths of large aircraft.
The decision was made to let the falconers go after deep budget cuts were recently introduced at JFK.
The responsibility of keeping one of the country’s busiest airports bird-free will now lie with the US Department of Agriculture.
That decision has some animal rights groups up in arms. The DOA deals with problematic birds with controlled shoots.
Between 2000 and 2008, birds were to blame for 30 accidents at JFK, more than at any other airport in the country.
Source: Wall Street Journal
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