So are one in ten fowl being culled, or did the writer decide they needed a more exciting word than “devastates” and that rhymes with macerate?

Look, I know I’m being pedantic, but if a person makes it their business to use words for a living (for the sake of having a label let’s call them a journalist) they should at least use their tools properly. I couldn’t care less if some random commenter on a forum uses the wrong “there” or drops an apostrophe. I’ve misspelled four words just trying to write this post. But this, someone whose job it is to write… it sets my teeth on edge.