(Picture Left: Two of the now grown goslings at Turtle Pond.)Introduction: The below is a press release just issued by The Humane Society of the United States.
While we greatly applaud the call to stop the goose killings, it comes too late for the thousands of Canada Geese who have already been rounded up in the New York area and slaughtered in "undisclosed locations."
Nevertheless, the statement from HSUS must be used to pressure federal, state and local leaders to immediately cease and disist (for now and the future) the vicious clandestine operations being conducted all over the country of round up and kill of Canada geese. Actions must instead be directed towards implementation of the humane alternatives as suggested in the press release.
These efforts are ongoing and must continue despite the fact the geese will soon be able to fly again. There is next year and the following years to consider. -- PCA
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
The Humane Society of the United States Urges Halt to Goose Slaughter
NEW YORK (July 14, 2010) -
The Humane Society of the United States calls on New York officials to immediately halt its program to kill resident Canada geese and work instead on a plan that will truly protect public safety and clears the geese from certain areas.
News outlets have reported that many New Yorkers are also distressed about the city's contract with the U.S. Department of Agriculture which resulted in the recent killing of 400 resident Canada geese in Brooklyn's Prospect Park and includes plans to round up more geese this week.
"This inhumane, ineffective and costly contract is the wrong way to address the goose population," said Patrick Kwan, New York state director for The HSUS. Scientists at the Smithsonian Institute have examined feather remains from the 2009 US Airways Flight 1549 bird strike and determined that the Canada geese involved were from a migrating population, not the local resident populations targeted by these roundups.
Many of the geese now being killed would never have been hatched if the city had adopted The HSUS' recommendations in 2009 to implement a comprehensive program to render goose eggs unviable, along with other effective tactics.
Communities across the country have had tremendous success with such programs that include treating eggs so they don't hatch, modifying habitats so they don't attract geese, and using trained dogs to make geese fly elsewhere.
A comprehensive, transparent and publicly supported management plan which includes these components is sorely needed to address the goose issue.
The HSUS offers extensive resources for developing programs to humanely reduce conflicts with geese and other wild animals.
Facts* Airport safety programs can keep the flying public safe and can be humane. The best programs use long-term strategies to permanently reduce the conditions that attract geese to airports.
* Killing geese merely opens habitat for other geese to fill. The answer is to treat the problem at the source-make airports and surrounding areas undesirable habitat to the birds while preventing flock growth with egg addling programs.
* Federal law protects Canada geese; however, that only means that people cannot harm birds without US Fish and Wildlife Service permission.
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The Humane Society of the United States is the nation's largest animal protection organization - backed by 11 million Americans, or one of every 28. For more than a half-century, The HSUS has been fighting for the protection of all animals through advocacy, education, and hands-on programs. Celebrating animals and confronting cruelty - On the web at humanesociety.org.The Humane Society of the United States2100 L Street, N.W.Washington, D.C. 20037 humanesociety.org Celebrating Animals, Confronting Cruelty
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