Kentucky agency OKs sandhill crane hunting season

FRANKFORT, Ky. (AP) – The Kentucky Fish and
Wildlife Commission has approved a four-week hunting season for
sandhill cranes, the first state on the Eastern seaboard to do
so.

The commission Friday unanimously approved the season to run
from Dec. 17 to Jan. 15. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service must
also approve the hunting season when it meets in June.

Dozens of people spoke against and for the new hunting season
during a sometimes contentious meeting that lasted nearly five
hours, the Lexington Herald-Leader reported.

Dr. Karen Waldrop, director of wildlife for Kentucky Fish and
Wildlife, told the commission that sandhill crane populations have
rebounded since reaching near extinction in the early 1900s.