Wild Turkey Takes Over Staten Island Man's Property, And Has 18 Reasons To Stay

NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) -- A Staten Island man is not happy about a new tenant that decided to move in on his property.

She's aggressive, uses his lawn as a bathroom and the city says she cannot be evicted -- without a permit.

A wild turkey showed up on Richard Gambardella's property in the Dongan Hills section of the borough a week ago and proceeded to lay 18 eggs.

Gambardella said he wanted to remove the eggs and the turkey, but calls to 3-1-1 and the ASPCA went nowhere. It turns out he needed a special permit from the Department of Environmental Conservation to remove the turkey and her eggs.

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Though the animal has yet to pose a threat to Gambardella, he said he was worried someone is going to get hurt.

"She comes over, like, aggressive. I mean, look at the claws on it," he said.

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The growing number of turkeys in the neighborhood were becoming a health and traffic hazard, according to Gambardella. A whole flock of the feisty birds already hangs around the corner from Staten Island University Hospital.

Late Tuesday afternoon, the DEC said an animal rescue group would be dispatched to move the turkey and her eggs to an animal sanctuary in the Catskills.

It was music to Gambardella's ears.

"I can walk out of my house without worrying about them attacking me," he said.