A roving flock of rogue turkeys created havoc in Mill Bay last week.

Marie Adam said a flock of what appeared to be domesticated turkeys invaded the backyard of her and her husband Hal’s home and the surrounding area.

She said they showed no fear of people and refused to move for her after roosting on her car, so her husband had to shoo them away before she could access the vehicle.

Adam said the turkeys eventually moved on to the neighbouring subdivision where another incident involving a car occurred.

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“A friend was driving through the neighbourhood with her window down and her dog saw the turkeys and jumped out of the window before my friend could grab the dog’s leash,” Adam said.

“Then one of the turkeys, who showed absolutely no fear, actually jumped through the window into the back of the car. There was quite a mess left behind once they managed to get the turkey out of the car.”

Adam speculated that the turkeys escaped from a free-range turkey farm somewhere in the area, although she has no idea exactly where they came from.

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She said she had not seen the turkeys in several days and guesses that they either moved on, or were gathered up by people from the turkey farm from which they originated.

But Adam said one was injured before they left the area and a provincial conservation officer was called in to deal with it.

“Unfortunately, it had to be euthanized,” she said.

“I’ve lived in this neighbourhood for 25 years and I have not seen anything like it in that time.”

A statement from the Ministry of Environment and Climate Change Strategy, which has jurisdiction over the province’s conservation officers, confirmed that one of the turkeys was injured and had to be euthanized.

“The ministry is not sure where the flock came from, but it could be from Shawnigan Lake,” the statement said.

There are at least two flocks of feral turkeys that have been wandering around Shawnigan Lake for years; with about 14 in one and nine in the other as of earlier this year.

They are believed to have been domesticated turkeys that, for some reason, ended up in the wild.

They are, for the most part, well liked by the residents of the area who refer to them as the village turkeys.



robert.barron@cowichanvalleycitizen.com

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