ANDOVER — Shawsheen Square was a bit more lonely Tuesday morning.
Animal control and local officials are blaming the death of the locally famous turkey, Henrietta, on the continued feeding of the town’s favorite feathered friend.
Henrietta patrolled the intersection of Lowell and Haverhill streets for months, gaining the admiration of the people and a nickname that stuck until she was struck and killed on Monday.
“With the turkey constantly being fed there she was never going to leave,” Bob Douglas, director of conservation, said. “Shawsheen Square was a bad place for a turkey.”
The animal control department announced Henrietta’s death on Facebook Tuesday and placed blame squarely on those who fed her.
“Unfortunately, it seems that the town’s continued efforts to urge people to stop feeding her had been ignored,” wrote Animal control officer Katie Kozikowski.
According to Kozikowski, large piles of bird seed and nuts were found on the roadway.
“It appears as though even people driving by were tossing bagels, donuts and even cans of tuna fish to her from their cars,” she said.
The town had even installed a camera to catch people feeding Henrietta, but she died before the footage could be accessed.
Kozikowski also addressed why Henrietta was never removed by professionals. According to officials, it is illegal to relocate wildlife in the state, mainly for the purposes of not spreading disease.
They are also very hard to catch, able to run as fast as 25 mph and fly up to 55 mph.
Relocation also poses a more gruesome danger.
“Placing her in another group of turkey’s territory would be dangerous, if they did not accept her (most would not), the turkeys in that flock would become aggressive and ultimately kill her themselves,” she wrote.
Kozikowski added that moving the turkey a short distance away would have only resulted in her returning to the location where she was being fed.
Feeding other animals can be dangerous.
Douglas said that feeding deer can actually cause the animal’s death. He said this is because they have a specific stomach biology that can cause them to get “filled up” with corn in the wintertime.
“One of the most horrible things I have ever seen,” he added.
Kozikowski said charges against drivers are only filed when there is an intention to hit the animal.
“Hopefully Henrietta’s legacy will live on in people’s memories, but also serve as a reminder that feeding wildlife can do more harm than good,” she concluded in the post. “Don’t feed the animals; keep wildlife wild.”