Owl’s killing is defended as necessary for air safety

A state Department of Transportation spokesman defended federal officials Tuesday for shooting a snowy owl — described as the first seen in Hawaii — at Honolulu Airport after the owl apparently made its way from the Arctic to the islands.

"These guys are unsung heroes," said Dan Meisenzahl, transportation spokesman, referring to biologists with the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Wildlife Services who killed the owl. "These guys are a little broken up that they had to do it."

A article Monday quoted Denver Holt, director of the Owl Research Institute in Montana, saying an unusually high number of the white, 2-foot-tall birds has been flying south from the Arctic this year, with one making its way to Oahu.

"One showed up at the airport in Hawaii, and they shot it," he told the Times. "It’s the first ever in Hawaii, and they shot it!"

The owl was killed on Thanksgiving by officials who feared the bird would interfere with runway traffic, the Times said.

Meisenzahl said the juvenile male was shot by the biologists, who are contracted by the state to scare birds from the runway. He said they killed the bird only after spending two hours trying to get it to leave.

"It basically kept hopping from the end of one runway to the end of another runway, which is a really dangerous situation," he said.

The biologists tried to shoo the bird with pyrotechnics five times, went after it with a truck and stopped runway traffic briefly to go after it. The officials also tried to catch it with net guns but couldn’t get close enough, he said.

By about 10 a.m., one of the busiest times on the airport runway, the bird still wouldn’t leave. "After exhausting every possible option, they had no choice," Meisenzahl said. "They were pretty heavy-hearted about the whole thing."