In news for Emus

In the second case of officially-sanctioned violence against the emu community of Southern Illinois since June, Mr. Snubbles – beloved father of seven – was gunned down by police today following a tense standoff.

The Chicago Tribune has the details.

Police kill emu after big bird messes with motorists
By JIM SUHR
Associated Press Writer

October 11, 2006, 11:07 AM CDT

GRANITE CITY, Ill. -- Packing 100 pounds on its 5-foot frame, the big bird gave police in this St. Louis suburb a mighty run, confounding them all six times someone reported the ostrich-like beast bugging motorists last weekend along busy Illinois Route 3.

Police finally caught up to the claw-footed menace Monday and ended the ruckus once and for all, cornering the emu, a cousin to the ostrich, and shooting it dead out of fear it'd again wander into traffic and kill someone.

Two days later, police on Wednesday still were pecking away at the vexing question: Where did the bird come from?

"We figured someone would call and say, `That's my bird!"' Police Chief Rich Miller said. "But we still haven't heard from anybody."

Raised for their eggs, oil and protein-rich lean meat, emus -- at least the errant variety -- have become a bit of a trend in southern Illinois, where they're not native.

In June, police in Carbondale, about 100 miles south of Granite City, needed five shotgun blasts and three rounds from a rifle to dispatch one of the flightless birds after cornering it in a residential area, where it was said to have even pecked on a home's window.

In both cases, police say they had no other recourse in dealing with a species known to be elusive -- they're capable of moving up to 35 mph -- and aggressive with anyone who gets too close.

"We figured that sooner or later our luck was gonna run out" and the emu here would cause a traffic wreck, Miller said. "If we had some way to catch it, somewhere to take it, that'd be fine. The ability for us to be second-guessed is always out there, but we decided (Monday) that now is the time to end this."

Carbondale police haven't said publicly if they ever tracked down an owner of the emu they killed, and messages with those authorities Wednesday weren't immediately returned.

…

According to reports filed from the scene, none of the police had been native to for Australia 80 million years, or could reach speeds on foot of up to 40 mph for short bursts, or ingested large stones into their gizzards to aid digestion.

Yum, yum.