Four-And-Thirty Blackbirds Poisoned With Strychnine At Lake Tahoe

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE (AP) - State agriculture officials are investigating the poisoning of dozens of blackbirds found dead at South Lake Tahoe.

Stella McMillin, an environmental scientist for the California Department of Fish and Wildlife Service, tells Lake Tahoe News it's not clear yet if the poisoning was intentional.

El Dorado County Animal Services found 34 dead blackbirds when officers were called to an area in the Tahoe Keys on Jan. 28. They apparently died from ingesting strychnine.

McMillin said the only legal use for strychnine is to control gophers by putting the poison underground in their burrows.