As Crime Spikes in Central Park, the Geese Are Targeted

"Man." -- Mate to nesting goose, Lady and harassed to exhaustion this morning by Geese Police in Central Park. This, despite the fact he is now molting and incapable of flight.

Due to rise in crime, police now have to patrol Central Park on horseback.

"Kaitlin."  Goose who lost most of her right leg to fishing line also harassed this morning at the Boat Lake in Central Park.

 

Under Mayor deBlasio, crime has significantly spiked in Manhattan and especially in Central Park. Recent weeks have witnessed muggings, assaults, robberies and even an attempted kidnapping in one of the world's most prestigious parks.

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http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3096156/Teen-robbed-Central-Park-broad-daylight-police-step-patrols-citing-recent-crime-spree.html

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Nevertheless, while all this is happening, Central Park Conservancy is apparently stepping up its relentless war on geese.

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This morning, an employee from Geese Police was observed in a canoe (with a Border Collie) on the Boat Lake chasing and harassing one goose. The gander in this case is the mate to "Lady" who is still nesting on a nearby rock.  Anyone knowing anything about geese knows a gander is not going to abandon a nesting mate even if tormented to the point of absurdity. But, to make matters worse is the fact that "Man" has been molting for at least a week and a half.  He literally cannot fly anywhere.

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Thus the eyewitness reported the gander "crying" and attempting to fly, but merely skimming the water with Geese Police in hot pursuit -- the employee even swatting the boat paddle at the gander who tried to flee onto a rock.

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"What are you doing?" asked one woman witnessing the scene. 

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"This goose is the most dangerous in the whole park!" the Geese Police man answered.

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"But, I know this goose and he is very gentle!" replied the onlooker.

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The man ignored the woman and continued to chase the then very stressed out and flightless gander.

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At that point, another woman yelled at the man. "What is wrong with you?  Can you not see that this goose is molting and cannot fly?"

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"No habla English." the man shot back and continued to chase the gander in the water.

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Though two different witnesses to the scene were upset, there was nothing either could do. Complaining to Central Park Conservancy via letters or phone calls is completely futile as all are ignored and not responded to.

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There are two other geese at the Boat Lake.  Lady, who was agitated on the nest this morning while her mate was harassed for nearly a half hour and Kaitlin, the goose who lost half of one leg to fishing line cutting into and eventually severing the foot and lower part.

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One might ask, what is the point of harassing a flightless goose, a legless goose and a goose sitting on eggs?

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But, ask all we want, the Conservancy is apparently unwilling to answer for its and Geese Police's actions which this morning, were tantamount to animal cruelty.

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It must be pointed out in sharing these endless stories of harassment, that harassing molting geese goes against all the protocols of this so-called, "management tool."  The supposed "goal" of goose harassment is to "keep geese moving." But, where are geese who cannot fly supposed to "move" to? Chasing flightless geese around a lake is both, cruel and utterly pointless.  As for a goose with only one leg, that is simply adding to the human cruelty that has already befallen and crippled this particular goose.

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When learning of this cruelty and lunacy this morning, I called the Conservancy in attempt to speak with and try to reason with someone in charge.  But I was transferred to voice mail of the Supervisor of Operations where messages are never returned.

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There is no reasoning with a machine.

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And so it is just another day in Central Park where visitors are constantly asked to "contribute to your moment."

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Such a "moment," watching a flightless goose being terrorized around a lake. I can say with absolutely certainty that neither I nor the two women witnesses this morning are "contributing to such moments."

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As for Man being "the most dangerous goose in the whole park," I would love to ask what crimes has he recently committed? Has the devoted gander to his nesting mate robbed anyone? Has he assaulted someone or tried to kidnap a toddler out of a playground? 

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Central Park really needs to get its priorities straight less it become the subject of the 2015 version of, "The Out-of-Towners."

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There are millions of New Yorkers who still remember the bad old days when Central Park was little more than a cesspool for muggings, rapes and robbery.

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Harassing flightless geese to exhaustion and terrorization is not remedy for that. -- PCA

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