Health, Safety Hazards Lead Lab to Consider Removing Turkeys

Citing various health and safety concerns brought about by the presence of around 60 wild turkeys on Berkeley Lab grounds, Lab management is considering plans to remove the turkeys from the grounds in the new year.

The turkeys have been responsible for at least two broken windows – one a large view window in the cafeteria smashed when a turkey tried to escape after wandering inside the dining hall. Turkey droppings on sidewalks and road surfaces have resulted in slip hazards for pedestrians. In addition, they have been road hazards for bicyclists and drivers, and they have been witnessed pecking at their reflections and causing damage to parked cars.

Senior Lab officials are also concerned that turkey droppings around the cafeteria could lead to contamination of food and water, especially during rain runoff.

“It is getting to the point where our employees are expressing concerns about their own safety,” said Don Lucas, chair of the Berkeley Lab Safety Committee. “Even some scientists mentioned that the droppings could contaminate experiments.”