Great horned owls will be culled along the West Coast in the coming years due to their attacks on hikers and adverse impacts on endangered species.
The barred owl, which is larger and more aggressive, competes with both the northern spotted owl and the California spotted owl for breeding grounds and nesting spots, according to a report.
The culling has already begun in Washington state, particularly on the Yakama Nation reservation, which is the first to actively manage barred owls through these measures.
Under a federal initiative, licensed professionals lure barred owls using recorded calls, then shoot them with shotguns. In some cases, the owls may be captured and put down, but the specifics of the operations remain somewhat vague.
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has finished its management plan for spotted owls, addressing concerns about dwindling populations.
This approach could result in the elimination of tens of thousands of barred owls annually in certain areas of the West over the next three decades.
Wildlife officials argue that this is essential for the preservation of the northern spotted owl, which is listed as endangered under the Endangered Species Act.
A report from the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife in 2024 indicated a 90% decrease in northern spotted owl populations on some federal lands, with barred owls primarily responsible for this decline.
Proponents of the culling assert that barred owls are overpowering their smaller relatives.
“The spotted owl is competing with the spotted owl, driving the species toward extinction,” Tom Wheeler, executive director of the Conservation Information Center, mentioned in an interview last year.
However, animal rights advocates have criticized the plan, arguing that barred owls are being penalized for naturally expanding their territories.
Historically, barred owls were found mostly in eastern North America, but they’ve gradually moved west over the last century, with the first recorded sighting in Washington dating back to 1965.
Wayne Pacelle, president of Animal Wellness Action, expressed concerns that these birds are being treated like an invasive species. He noted that other species also expand their ranges, and given that birds can travel, it’s not unusual for them to migrate significantly.
Pacelle also raised doubts about the effectiveness of decades of eradication efforts, suggesting that young barred owls will simply occupy areas where older ones have been removed.
“If you eliminate barred owls from a region, younger ones will just return and reinfest the area—it’s a never-ending cycle,” he explained.
This situation has also revived past debates over logging and untouched forests.
Pacelle contends that habitat destruction has significantly contributed to the decline of barred owls and that removal programs could be misused to justify increased logging activities.
“It’s ushering in a new era of primary forests being felled,” he clarified.
Opponents of the culling program have recently petitioned a federal court in Portland to dismiss it, arguing that wildlife officials should not permit what they deem a mass killing of a species protected for over a century under the Migratory Bird Treaty Act.
For the time being, the program continues to target barred owls as officials strive to prevent another owl species from facing extinction.
