Starling slaughter leaves northern Nevada awash with rotting birds

‘It was like a scene from Hitchcock’s The Birds’ as 1m starlings descend on state

Federal government poisons birds to protect livestock from disease

Associated Press in Reno

Tuesday 24 March 2015 19.35 GMTLast modified on Tuesday 24 March 201520.38 GMT

Land owners surprised to discover tens of thousands of dead birds across the high desert are criticising the federal government over a mass killing of starlings in northern Nevada.

The US Department of Agriculture said a pesticide was used to destroy the birds to prevent the spread of disease to dairy cows.

Some area residents, however, say the government should have done more to alert the public and to dispose of the dead birds.

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