Town installs cannon to scare off buzzards terrorizing Franklin County residents

FRANKLIN COUNTY, N.C. (WTVD) -- A Franklin County town is trying a new tactic to get rid of unwelcome visitors this holiday season: buzzards destroying homes and terrorizing residents.

In November, Bunn resident Alexandra Caldwell said 10-20 buzzards converged on her home every morning, ripping off her roof shingles, destroying the chimney and leaving droppings--which experts say can be toxic.

"It's just frustrating because you know you can't do anything about it. You just kind of look at them and it's like you try to scare them away but you can't do but so much," Caldwell said at the time.

The town will start using an automatic cannon in the mornings, afternoons and evenings starting December 22 to get rid of the buzzards. The cannon will sound like a gunshot when it goes off.

In November, a Bunn town commissioner said because the buzzards are protected by the federal government, locally their hands were tied until they could get help from the USDA.