A mail carrier in Sacramento has been accused of fowl play after going postal on a wild turkey.
The bird apparently accosted the letter carrier Monday, prompting him to grab a pole or stick from his vehicle and fatally beat the animal with it, the Sacramento Bee reports, citing eyewitness accounts on social media app Nextdoor.
The incident has prompted a probe by California wildlife officials and the US Postal Service.
“We are currently launching a thorough investigation,” Meiko Patton, a local USPS spokesperson told the outlet. “Our employees have had several altercations with aggressive turkeys in the area, including a recent attack on a letter carrier. We have been working with the Department of Fish and Wildlife to mitigate the issue.”
“However, this allegation is alarming, and if true, [is] inexcusable and [does] not reflect the efforts of our more than 650,000 employees who faithfully serve and deliver for America every day,” Patton added.
The USPS has filed complaints in the past about aggressive turkeys that roam the Creekside neighborhood.
A biologist dispatched to the area back in October “observed four turkeys actively, aggressively go after a mail carrier when he got out of his mail truck,” said Department of Fish and Wildlife spokesman Capt. Patrick Foy.
Agents have been unsuccessful in their attempts to capture the confrontational turkeys, Foy said, prompting postal carriers to defend themselves in a variety of ways, including kicking, using pepper spray or swinging their mail bags.
Neighbors are divided in their opinions about the wild turkeys.
“Half of the neighborhood was infuriated that a mailman killed a turkey,” Foy said. “The other half are infuriated that somebody won’t come out and get rid of all the turkeys.”