Fisher cat slaughters turkeys at couple's farm
It was near midnight Tuesday when Elena Hermonot heard intense barking from her two dogs and she knew something was wrong on the farm.
<p class="MsoNormal">She headed outside to investigate.
<p class="MsoNormal">When she looked into the cage where she and her husband, Rick, keep their 1,200 turkeys at Ekonk Hill Turkey Farm in Sterling, she saw a fisher cat running away and dozens of turkeys savagely killed.
<p class="MsoNormal">"She saw one, then two, and by the time she was done, she counted 68," Rick Hermonot said. "If she hadn't gone out there, it would've kept killing and killing."
<p class="MsoNormal">Rick Hermonot was away on business at the time. He said he doesn't know how many fishers attacked the turkeys, but it likely was just one since the animal is known to be solitary.
<p class="MsoNormal">Regardless, the Hermonots' profit for the year was lost in a matter of minutes.
<p class="MsoNormal">"These 68 turkeys represents our profit margin," he said. "It's hard for me to comprehend that a fisher cat would kill that much. They just go for the neck and rip the throat right out."
<p class="MsoNormal">Larry Prioux, an animal control officer in Griswold, referred to the slender, furry mammal in a 2004 Norwich Bulletin article as "killing machines" after several attacks on domestic animals in the area.
<p class="MsoNormal">The Hermonots had an experience with a fisher three years ago. The animal attacked their turkeys, killing 22.
<p class="MsoNormal">Rick Hermonot said this is a new, disturbing occurrence.
<p class="MsoNormal">"Up until about three years ago, you wouldn't see a fisher cat," he said.
<p class="MsoNormal">Dennis Schain of the Department of Environmental Protection said fishers are native to the area, and aside from a 26-day trapping season, there are no methods of controlling the animal.
<p class="MsoNormal">"People just need to take the best safeguards possible," he said.
<p class="MsoNormal">The Hermonots said from now they will lock their turkeys in the barn to ensure there will be no more attacks.
<p class="MsoNormal">Reach Norwich Bulletin writer Dustin Racioppi at dracioppi@norwichbulletin.com