if hawks kill birds, is it ok to kill hawks?

Answer 1

No, it is not okay to kill hawks.

First, species are mostly either predator or prey. If you kill all the predators, what happens to the prey species? They have no population control, and can easily overpopulate which causes illness and starvation. Predators are necessary.

Second, humans should not decide which species are desireable and which are not. Just because you like the other birds and dislike the fact that the hawk has to kill them to eat and stay alive himself, you can not decide, arbitrarily, to eliminate the hawks. You need to understand their ecological niche, their importance to the ecology.

Third, it is not legal to kill hawks. In the US, all native migratory species are protected by federal law (Migratory Bird Treaty Act). In addition, all raptors (hawks and their kin) are protected by other state and federal laws. It is illegal to kill a hawk, harm one, or even harass one. The fines and jail time for killing a protected raptor are not small!

Answer 2

By "OK" I assume you mean "morally right". Hawks kill other birds because that's what they do to stay alive, they don't think about wither its right or wrong. Everything kills something else, that's how ecosystems work. On the other hand, if you were to kill a hawk, you wouldn't be killing it to keep your self alive, you would be killing it through a sort of "revenge" for all the other birds that the hawk has killed. That doesn't seem like a valid motivation to me. Humans have already destroyed enough of the world ecosystem inadvertently, lets try not to do it on purpose.

Answer 3

Actually the most common hawk in America, the Red-tailed, kills mostly rodents like rats, mice and gophers. So by killing one you would be eliminating a natural controller of pest animals which are known to cause agricultural damage. As far as bird eating hawks such as Cooper's, Sharp-shinned and Peregrine, they tend to mostly catch injured, sick or old birds thereby thinning the flocks and helping the prey species remain fit and healthy. Any way you slice it, interfering in the natural prey/predator relationship in nature is at best ignorant and at worst illegal and a good way of getting yourself slapped up with fines and possible jail time. Why not just appreciate the inherent beauty of million's of years of evolution and simply observe the hawks doing what they do to survive. Why do people always have to try and interfere, especially with things they don't understand.

Answer 4

Check with the Georgia State DNR/Fish & Game Department. If a bird is NOT on the Endangered/Protected Species list -- and most birds of prey (hawks, owls, eagles, etc) ARE on the list -- then you MIGHT be able to kill it. But you will have to prove that it was actually threatening your dogs and/or chickens, and without some sort of PHYSICAL proof...well, let's just say that you'd be lucky to get off with only a good talkin' to. If you are really worried about the chickens, just put some mesh wire fencing across the top of the pens, to keep the hawks/owls/eagles/etc out (you should do that anyway, 'cause chickens really can fly). As for the dogs -- they should be able to take care of themselves.

Answer 5

We live in a zero sum world.

By killing hawks you are eliminating the natural predator of birds that keep the birds population in line. By increasing the bird population you are decimating the bird's food source because now their more demand of their food source. Less than a good idea.

Cheers!

Answer 6

it's illegal, if that's what you mean. Actually, hawks rarely kill birds. Buteos (hawks) will kill birds on the ground (doves, quail, etc), however, it's Accipters (falcons) that take birds on the wing. it's their niche and they are designed to hunt and kill birds. There's no reason to kill a raptor for doing what nature intended it to do.

Answer 7

NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO, its not OK
Its the way nature is. To maintain ecological balance it should happen the way it is. Else balance will be lost and other birds will populate. By the way Hawk is also a bird :)

Its the same jungle rule. If big cats like Lions and Tigers are not there or if they turn vegeterian, jungle balance will be lost and the whole earth will be a mess.

Answer 8

Hawks are raptors (predatory birds) and as such are protected by law. By your reasoning, it would be okay to kill humans since we kill far more animals than any other species on this planet. Predation has been around for 3 billion years and it works.

Answer 9

No!!! Hawks are predatory birds and that is how they make their living.

Answer 10

Butchers kill birds too (chickens, ducks, turkeys ...). Would it be ok to kill butchers?