Judge won't stop turkey hunt in San Diego County

A judge Tuesday refused to block a turkey hunt set for this weekend at the Santa Ysabel Open Space Preserve in northern San Diego County.

San Diego Superior Court Judge Lorna Alknse said that an animal protection group had failed to prove that the hunt would cause irreparable harm to the 3,800-acre preserve.

The hunt, endorsed by a 3-2 vote of the county Board of Supervisors, will allow 20 youths to hunt for turkeys. The event will be chaperoned and is sponsored by the San Diego chapter of the Wild Turkey Federation.

The Animal Protection and Rescue League had sought a temporary restraining order to block the hunt. The league asserts that hunt organizers should be required to file an environmental impact report.

--Tony Perry in San Diego

Photo: Wild turkeys near Santa Ysabel, 2010. Credit: Don Bartletti / Los Angeles Times