No govt agency taking responsibility for poisoned starlings in northern Utah

[Donna]

CLEARFIELD, Utah — A die-off of European starlings in a northern Utah community has left local officials wondering who poisoned them.

Federal and state wildlife agencies told The Associated Press they did not cause about 400 starlings to fall dead at a Clearfield park earlier this week.

    Linnell says anyone can kill starlings with an approved poison because they're an unprotected species.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture says it set out poisoned bait five days earlier for starlings making a mess at a feedlot 30 miles away.

But Utah's USDA wildlife program chief Mike Linnell says that poisoning campaign can't be connected to the more recent death of starlings in Clearfield. He believes an unknown landowner is behind the most recent poisoning.

Linnell says anyone can kill starlings with an approved poison because they're an unprotected species.

The Republic