Landfills are among the worst − but necessary − creations of modern life. Anyone who lives within miles of one can attest to the odors, truck traffic, noise and wildlife they attract.
But there is another problem we don’t talk about nearly as much: A landfill can become an enormous feeding ground for animals capable of carrying disease far beyond the landfill gates.
That matters as Greater Cincinnati debates a startling number reported by The Enquirer. Since 2008, nearly 170,000 animals have been killed at Rumpke’s massive landfill in Colerain Township as part of a wildlife-control program conducted with the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
The number is eye-opening.
Landfills can create more than a wildlife problem
A local conservation organization, Oxbow Inc., obtained the records and has questioned
the killing. PETA has also urged Rumpke to rely on humane deterrents rather than lethal methods.
But there is another number that belongs in this discussion: Rumpke says approximately 29 million animals have been driven away from the landfill rather than killed. More than 99% of the animals encountered were dispersed using nonlethal methods.
That doesn’t sound like an operation whose first choice is killing wildlife. It sounds like an operation confronting an unpleasant problem largely created by us.
We fill a landfill with thousands of tons of garbage every day, much of it containing food. Then, we are surprised when millions of birds and animals show up for dinner.
The question isn’t whether we are indifferent to killing them. Of course we aren’t. The question is what happens when they leave.
What the science actually shows
Scientists have been studying that question, and the answers deserve more attention in this debate. The U.S. Department of Agriculture identifies Salmonella and Shiga toxin-producing E. coli as important disease concerns involving European starlings. At large cattle feedlots, researchers found that reducing huge starling populations was followed by the disappearance of Salmonella from feed troughs and substantial declines in contaminated water troughs.
Other researchers have studied birds that feed at landfills. They have found that gulls can acquire antibiotic-resistant bacteria from human waste sources and potentially carry those organisms considerable distances. Another study found that birds feeding at landfills carried greater amounts of antibiotic-resistance genes and potential pathogens than birds feeding in less contaminated environments.
That does not prove that a starling flew out of Rumpke and made someone in Colerain Township sick. No one has presented evidence of that. But disease prevention has never required waiting until scientists can trace an individual infection back to a particular bird.
If we know that millions of animals are congregating around our garbage, that some can carry pathogens, and that they then disperse into surrounding communities, farms and waterways, controlling those populations is a legitimate public-health responsibility.
Kill as few animals as possible
Yes, there should be safeguards. Nonlethal methods should be used whenever they are effective. Rumpke and the USDA should explain what species are being killed, why they are being killed, and whether reasonable alternatives have been tried.
Oxbow has done the community a service by obtaining these records and forcing the issue into public view. But transparency should begin the discussion, not end it.
Simply saying, "Don’t kill the animals," is not a wildlife-management policy. Someone must answer the harder question: What do we do with millions of animals attracted to mountains of our garbage when those animals can carry contaminants and disease away with them?
We created the landfill. We created the food source. We, therefore, have an obligation to manage the consequences.
The humane objective should be to kill as few animals as reasonably possible. But when nonlethal measures aren’t enough, I would rather prevent a potential public-health problem than wait until we can prove one has occurred.
Compassion for animals is admirable. So is protecting the people who live outside the landfill fence.
Dennis Doyle lives in Anderson Township and is a member of The Enquirer Board of Contributors.
This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: The 170,000 animals killed at Rumpke aren't the whole story | Opinion
