NAMPA - Officials in Nampa in southwestern Idaho have authorized the city's police force to use pellet guns to shoot crows in the downtown area through Sunday night.
Mayor Bob Henry approved the discharging of firearms in the downtown area, which is otherwise prohibited.
City of Nampa communications director Vickie Holbrook says officers will shoot crows with pellet guns after 9 p.m., and only if time and call volume allows. They will not be paid overtime to hunt crows.
Officials say the crows feed in fields during the day and return to the city in the evening where it's warmer, partly because of the street lights.
Officials say the crows create a mess downtown that can cause a health hazard.
Nampa officials are also exploring using a bird repellent hazer that nearby Caldwell used when crows created a problem in that city several years ago.
"It's going to require a concerted effort on the part of all the stakeholders to let the crows know they are not wanted in downtown Nampa," Henry said in a statement issued Friday. "Those long-term decisions will depend on decisions that Mayor-elect Debbie Kling and the City Council will make after the first of the year."
