Shoot the crows or the monarchy will end!
{...} For the six ravens who roam one of Britain's landmark fortresses are under threat from up to 200 crows who have invaded their royal domain, spreading disease and stealing food.So every Sunday at dawn, before the daily tourist invasion begins, Yeoman Warder Derrick Coyle roams The Tower with his .22 air rifle to cull the crows.
For the beefeater, it is a weighty responsibility securing a haven for the ravens. Legend has it that if the ravens leave, The Tower of London will fall and so will the monarchy.
The 17th century monarch Charles II decreed that there must always be six ravens in residence.
"Urban crows are on the increase and they are a growing problem for us," said a spokeswoman for Historic Royal Palaces, which runs the Tower of London.
"The ravenmaster has his own culling strategy. He goes out at dawn and looks for the crows that he knows are ill -- they have matted feathers and a mangy appearance," she told Reuters.
Rarely has a collective noun been more appropriate in English -- a gathering of crows is known as a murder of crows. {...}
I think the beefeater is going about it the wrong way. One does not need to be kind to crows and cull out the weak ones. You have to make an impression on the entire flock, or so a farm boy friend of mine told me a while back. "Crows," said he, with a malicious grin plastered across his face, "have a deep respect for a .22."
And, no, he wasn't referring to a .22 air rifle.
One has to think that they don't take the monarchy all that seriously if they won't deal with the crow threat with a real rifle.
Posted by Kathy at February 28, 2005 01:51 PM