Dept. of Game, Fish and Parks
For Immediate Release: Friday, April 5, 2002
For more information:  Bob Brown, 734-4530

TURKEY POISONING REPORTED

PIERRE – A mid-February fire on a Gregory County farmstead has been linked to the poisoning of a group of wild turkey and a resulting health-risk warning to turkey hunters.

The fire totally destroyed a farm building near Lucas, S.D. The fire also resulted in the spill of an organophosphate insecticide. Unknown to anyone at that time, the insecticide soaked into a small amount of grain seed that was stored inside the building that burned. 

Within a couple of days, a large group of wild turkeys, which had made the farmstead their wintering grounds, began feeding on the grain and soon had it all ingested. Approximately three weeks later, turkeys at the location began dying.

Both live and dead turkeys where collected from the site and sent to the diagnostic lab at South Dakota State University. After extensive lab work, organophosphate poisoning was determined as the cause of death.

To date, approximately 50 turkeys are known to have died at or near the site.

Health authorities are now issuing an advisement that it is unsafe to eat the meat of any of the contaminated birds. For safety sake, it must be assumed that all turkeys in the 30-square-mile area are contaminated and should not be consumed. Hunters may hunt this area and harvest a turkey, but they should not eat it. The turkey can be taken to a taxidermist, but proper precautions should be taken while handling the bird.

"To help reduce the health risk, an effort is underway to destroy the potentially contaminated birds," said Game, Fish and Parks Regional Supervisor Bob Brown of Chamberlain. "So far, approximately 80 turkeys have been removed from the affected area. This is believed to be about half of the potentially contaminated turkeys." On the chance that any turkeys might have migrated into the surrounding area, landowners in the affected area are being advised of department concerns related to the contaminated birds, so they can pass the warning along to any hunters they host. Well-traveled roads in the affected area will be marked with warning signs.

The affected area begins approximately two miles east of Lucas and includes the 30-square-mile area east of there. Normal dispersal of this flock of turkeys would be along the drainage of the north fork of Whetstone Creek in portions of Scissons, Turney and Whetstone townships. Included in the area are 14 farms and ranches.

Licenses for this unit will not be refunded. The opportunity to hunt and harvest a turkey in the affected area still exists. However, if a turkey is taken in this area, the meat should not be eaten.

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