An effort to protect endangered salmon is resulting into culling of thousands of seabirds on an Oregon island. Since May this year, the United States government has killed over a thousand seabirds on the island just to protect the fish. Many environmentalists said that the mass killing of seabirds, a plan of US government, should be stopped.

A report released on Friday by US officials said the country's government has killed more than 1,200 cormorant birds, and over 5,000 nests have been destroyed completely. The culling will continue in October until the seabirds leave the place due to upcoming winter season, according to the officials.

Bob Sallinger, conservation director of the Audubon Society of Portland, is among the people who are against the killing of seabirds. According to Sallinger, "Government agents are racing about in their boat blowing birds out of the sky. The public has a right to see how the federal government is squandering millions of taxpayer dollars killing protected wild birds".

The killing of seabirds by the US government started on 24 May as a plan to cull about 11,000 double-crested cormorants. Officials at United States wildlife said the decision was taken to kill the seabirds that are putting endangered salmon at risk. Some steelhead trout and salmon species are in the list of threatened or endangered species under the Endangered Species Act.

Diana Fredlund, Army Corps of Engineers Portland District spokesperson, said killing of the seabirds was necessary. If government workers do not kill them, the Endangered Species Act will be violated, Fredlund said.