Thanksgiving is almost upon us and this will be the perfect time to reconnect with family and friends while enjoying a delicious serving of roast turkey.
It’s a yearly tradition that most people have never given a second thought. But what if your preferred food decided to fight back?
It seems that New Jersey is facing a unique turkey problem after gangs of the wild birds started running amok in several areas in the Garden State. It’s almost like they know that Thanksgiving is coming up and they’re acting to protest the fate of their fellow turkeys once the fateful day arrives.
Either way, it’s a far cry from the normally docile birds that have spawned the term “turkey shoot.”
One resident from an over-55 community located in Ocean County’s Holiday City area told News 12 that the birds were “pecking at cars and behaving aggressively,” and this includes such acts as breaking windows and even blocking roads.
The resident added, “Sometimes I can’t get out of my car. They go to attack you.”
A few terrorized residents called in law enforcement for help after failed attempts to shoo the birds away. However, the Toms River animal control officers (the area where most of the wild turkeys running loose were reported) said that they can’t do anything because they are not licensed to trap wildlife.
However, the New Jersey Fish and Wildlife office is aware of the situation and is trying to work out a solution.
In the meantime, affected residents have been advised to avoid interacting with the birds. Turkeys can grow to weigh 25 lbs. and can even run as fast as 20 mph.
Even MLB all-star Todd Frazier has run “a-fowl” of these feathered gangs as he went to Twitter to share a photo of the birds surrounding his car and added in a later tweet that they “have come close to harming my family and friends, ruined my cars, trashed my yard and much more.”
But some residents are looking at it from the bright side.
Resident Richard Flecker said that the birds are helping control traffic.
He told CBS3, “We need speed bumps and instead of speed bumps, we got turkeys.”
Replaced!