The Pentagon is no stranger to wasteful spending, but its latest project spends up to $3.8 million to care for a captive bird species known as the Loggerhead Shrike. The Defense Department grant notice describes its goal to “continue to maintain and care for captive Loggerhead Shrikes for release, provide necessary veterinary care and pathology for chicks and adults, and to collect and analyze all necessary biological data.”
The grantee should expect the work to include, “maintaining and caring for current captive loggerhead shrike at San Clemente Island, production of juvenile loggerhead shrikes for release, execution of supplemental diet plans that provide food and forage for captive flock, provide demographic and genetic management for captive and wild flocks on San Clemente Island, and providing veterinary care and pathology services for San Clement Loggerhead Shrikes.”
The DOD is the funding agency for this project because it’s located at the Naval Auxiliary Landing Field on San Clemente Island in California.
While conserving a bird species is a laudable goal, spending $3.8 million isn’t necessary. Surely, nonprofits would be happy to help with the conservation of this species for a smaller price tag. Even the already well-funded Department of Interior could send some of its experts to help.
The #WasteOfTheDay is brought to you by the forensic auditors at OpenTheBooks.com. This article originally appeared on RealClearPolicy.