“They are all over the place”: Aggressive gaggle of wild turkeys terrorizing 55-and-up community

A large flock of aggressive turkeys are terrorizing residents of an over-55 community in the Holiday City section of Toms River.

News 12 Staff

Nov 8, 2019, 3:26 PM

Updated 1,871 days ago

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A large flock of aggressive turkeys are terrorizing residents of an over-55 community in the Holiday City section of Toms River.
 
According to residents, turkeys in a large flock are blocking their doorways, pecking at cars and behaving aggressively.
Wildlife officials say male "Tom" turkeys can weigh between 16 and 24 pounds and can run up to 20 mph.
"They are all over the place," says Jack Adams, of Toms River. "They're are massive amounts of turkeys in here. I did stop the truck yesterday and they were gobbling, gobbling, gobbling and I bet they can chase some people around."
Others say if you don't provoke them, they won't bother you -- and actually see them as a benefit in the neighborhood.
"They're like traffic cops," says Richard Flecker, of Toms River. "People speed down the highway all the time and instead of speed bumps, we have turkeys."
Drivers are slowing down when the turkeys are crossing the road.
Toms River says its animal control officers aren't licensed to trap the wild turkeys, so State, Fish and Wildlife officials have been made aware of the situation.