Update: Coot Massacre Canceled!

Update: March 9, 2021
The S at Rancho Mirage golf club in Rancho Mirage, California, has agreed to scrap all plans to kill coots! Thankfully, management has committed to working with city officials to expand nonlethal options that will deter birds from the property. Lethal methods fail to control wild populations and only result in an endless killing cycle, so this compassionate decision will save countless lives.

Thank you to all who spoke up for coots! Please check out PETA’s other urgent alerts to take action in behalf of animals who still need your help.

Original post:
The S at Rancho Mirage, a golf club in Rancho Mirage, California, has reportedly hired a contractor to remove coots from its grounds. The disturbing footage below—allegedly captured at the facility on March 4—documents that armed men blasted away at the waterbirds and stood by indifferently as one coot was shot from the sky and splashed into the lake below, where the frantic, injured bird struggled to stay afloat among the corpses of fallen flockmates.

Not only is killing cruel, it also doesn’t work to control wild populations—in fact, lethal methods cause survivors and inevitable newcomers to breed at an accelerated rate, which just happens to ensure repeat business for those who make a living from bloodshed. The S at Rancho Mirage should know this by now, since it’s apparently been having American coots killed for years.

This species can be effectively and humanely deterred from areas where they aren’t wanted by allowing grass and bushes to flourish or installing fencing along banks, installing floating flashing lights or effigies of alligators on ponds, using repellents such as the GooseBuster, or spraying grape-flavored deterrents on lawns. A strict prohibition on feeding wildlife must also be enforced.