ON THIS DAY: 29 May 1991 – The Port Authority operating John F. Kennedy Airport in New York commenced the slaughter of 15,000 gulls at JFK. Sharpshooters were hired to kill gulls from May to August.
Between 1979 and 1993, bird strikes at JFK caused 45 aborted takeoffs and 41 damaged or destroyed aircraft engines. Fortunately, no one was injured or killed. The main species of gull around the airport was the Laughing Gull, known for its distinctive black head and cackling call. These gulls nested in the nearby Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge, managed by the National Park Service. The refuge, which began with 15 nesting pairs in 1979, saw a population increase to nearly 8,000 by 1992.
Sam Chevalier, known as the ‘Birdman of JFK Airport’, led a team of eight in efforts to manage the bird problem. He claimed that the gulls defied every tactic previously attempted. These methods included inflatable owls, the use of peregrine falcons—who, it turned out, were more interested in hunting other, tastier birds—and cannons that discharged with deafening blasts.
By August 1991, following the initial culling operation, half of the adult gull population had been killed. The Port Authority reported that bird-aircraft collisions decreased from 155 to 53 that year.
However, The New York Times reported on September 5, 1993, that an animal-rights group had filed a lawsuit against the government in the United States District Court in Washington, D.C.. The group demanded an end to the shooting of gulls at Kennedy Airport, accusing authorities of failing to exhaust nonlethal bird control methods and of violating the Migratory Bird Treaty of 1918. One proposed alternative was to allow the grass around the airport to grow longer, making the area less attractive to birds for foraging.
Globally, the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) reported that between 1990 and 2022, nearly 300,000 wildlife strikes had been recorded.
JFK Airport still employs lethal methods to cull birds near the airport, but these practices are now conducted under close monitoring and in moderation. The airport employs wildlife biologists to advise on bird management, and the surrounding habitat is continually modified—through grass management, water drainage, and the removal of trees and scrub—to make it less appealing to birds. Nonlethal deterrents such as flares, loud noises, falconry, and lasers are also used. In some cases, birds—particularly Canada geese—are trapped and relocated.
It’s a sobering thought that a $200 million feat of precision engineering—twin turbofans, fly-by-wire controls, cruising speed of 550 mph—can be brought to the ground by a 3-pound aerodynamic anarchist that lives on garbage. Both fly, but only one files a flight plan.