Ripping apart garbage bags, rummaging through leftovers, scavenging cafés and food stands, crows have earned the enmity of sanitation-obsessed Singaporeans. The tiny Asian island nation is infamous for its stict rules to promote cleanliness, including a ban on most chewing gum in public places.

And when it comes to crows, neatness isn't the only concern, as dive-bombings have been known to leave Singaporeans smarting.

But the birds aren't the ones drawing blood.

In 2006, at the invitation of the government, volunteers from the Singapore Gun Club culled approximately 1,025 crows—down slightly from 2005's tally of 1,650. The club's highest annual tally was 14,370 in 2001.

The official culling program began in 1973. When traps and poison failed to work, shooting became the preferred method for controlling the crow population. At first military marksmen were used, but in 1982 the Ministry of the Environment invited Singapore Gun Club members to take their best shots at the birds.

Due to strict gun regulations, few Singaporeans own firearms, so club members were the only private citizens in the country that authorities could turn to for help.

Read the rest at National Geographic News

Copyright © James Card.