I can somewhat understand the fears and concerns about human safety that have driven the city to adopt this approach, but should it not at least strike us as sad that such is the world we must live in? No, sir. Instead, this article from CBS News instructs us on how we should perceive this state of affairs: "The initiative seems to be a success, with government officials reporting the lowest total of geese killed this summer of any year since the roundups started." What a grand victory for humans versus nature! Worth celebrating indeed.
An article by Mary Lou Simms from earlier this month in the Birmingham news titled "Geese roundups around airports are for profit, not safety," offers a balancing viewpoint.
I am left rather dumb-struck by this revelation in her article:
"Wildlife Services -- the agency responsible -- is the USDA's dirty little secret... taxpayers are subsidizing a $126.5 million program that exterminates more than 5 million wild animals annually, including thousands of community geese... More than half of the agency's overall budget comes from "killing" contracts, such as the $100,000 highly controversial New York City roundups every summer."
Are there really a few million wild animals inconveniencing us each year?
Another article by Mary Lou Simms from last year discusses a related issue. Even if we must "manage" populations of wild birds, can this not be done in a more humane fashion rather than gassing them en masse? I am encouraged to find that there is an effort along these lines called GeesePeace , which advocates a much more ethically-grounded approach to reducing Geese populations, using well-thought-out protocols that include "coating eggs with corn oil, egg replacement and strategic nest destruction."
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Resources for Additional Information
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Resources for Additional Information
- This "case study" provides an accounting of the explosive growth of Canada Goose populations adapted to human environments, their adverse economic impact on some business including Golf courses, and some of the legal issues surrounding their management.
- Canadageese.org is an informational site maintained by an advocacy group aiming to "prevent the destruction of Canada Geese".
Hi, I came across your blog as I was reading goose articles. Yes it is not that difficult to humanely manage a Canada goose population. I think the biggest problem in the USA is the USDA is in the killing business and their wildlife services makes a lot of money killing geese. The Okanagan Valley in BC, Canada has successfully addled eggs for seven years now. The Okanagan Valley in BC is a major tourist and recreational area. The Okanagan Lake is 70 miles long. Other major industries include orchards and vineyards. The valley is as big as the state of NJ and they have a humane egg addling program which has successfully stabilized their permanent resident Canada goose population.
ReplyDeleteEgg Addling Controls Goose Population
“In a continued effort to control the Canada Goose population in the Okanagan Valley, the Okanagan Valley Goose Management Program is about to begin its annual egg addling program. Over the PAST SIX YEARS, this program has prevented the exponential increase of the non-migratory resident goose population that inhabits the valley all year long………Since the program began in 2007, approximately 7,700 EGGS HAVE BEEN PREVENTED FROM HATCHING THROUGH THIS MINIMALLY INVASIVE APPROACH…. ….In order for the program to succeed, new nests need to be identified. The PUBLIC IS ASKED TO REPORT lone geese, pairs of geese or nest locations on private or public land.”
http://www.okanagangooseplan.com/?p=270
In addition to ground surveys, aerial surveys were conducted in 2007 and 2011 to estimate the number of geese residing in the Okanagan Valley and to determine what proportion of the population were hatched that year. The Canada goose popuatlion appears to have stabilized throughout the valley.
http://www.okanagangooseplan.com/?cat=6
GOOSE STRATEGY AND ACTION PLAN.
http://www.okanagangooseplan.com/files/OVGMP_Strategy_Action%20Plan_2006.pdf
I live in Vancouver, BC and we have a lot of permanent resident Canada geese. They have never been an issue. The city sometimes does some half hearted egg addling but the fact is people like them...they love to see the goose families and babies; they love to watch a mama goose nest in a public place; they just love the gregariousness of geese, their character. And I love it that Stanley Park, where there are also lots of geese, has been named the worlds best park by Trip Advisor. I think that definitely demonstrates that people like urban wildlife in their parks and a bit of goose poop isn't anything they'd whine about here. I don't understand at all how people can be so blind and fastidious they ignore the beauty and magic of these birds to focus on a bit of poop on their shoes. In fact I always find by the time I get home from the park my shoes are pretty clean!! I enjoyed your blog...it is refreshing to read something that is positive about wildlife since so much of the mainstream isn't!!
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