The US Department of Agriculture has announced a controversial new plan to combat the growing population of brown tree snakes on the island of Guam. The USDA's Wildlife Services division plans to make an airdrop of dead, poisoned mice over the island in an effort to cut down on the pesky snakes.
The brown tree snake is native to Australia and New Guinea and was likely introduced to Guam on military planes and boats. Guam currently has an estimated population of over 2 million brown tree snakes and they have been blamed for numerous human bites, dwindling bird populations and damage to infrastructure.
"We are taking this to a new phase," said Daniel Vice, assistant state director of US Department of Agriculture's Wildlife Services in Hawaii, Guam and the Pacific Islands. "There really is no other place in the world with a snake problem like Guam."
The drop is scheduled to take place in April or May, reports the UK's Guardian, and animal rights group PETA have blasted the measure as inhumane.
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