Last night, I rushed to Central Park like a mad woman doused with boiling water.
This, in the wake of a New York Times blog piece that hit the Internet about 5 PM:
(Please comment to this article.)
In it, we learn from writer, Andy Newman that the goose roundups in NYC began last Monday and have so far yielded 255 geese from across city parks.
This news came as a huge shock to many of us who expected that goose killings would not begin until the DEP released an official announcement (which has always been done in the past). This was also indicated in an article from the Brooklyn Paper last week.
The fact the DEP and USDA did not even bother with the press release this year, but simply forged ahead with the clandestine killings seems to demonstrate not only utter contempt for public opinion, but an action of irresponsibility.
"Those who have nothing to hide, hide nothing."
I did not know what to expect when finally arriving to the Boat Lake in Central Park last night. I literally held my breath.
But, thank God, both goose families were safe and sound. I took a bunch of photos and later posted them to FB sites in effort to get their faces publicly out there:
I have watched the six goslings of Buster and Bonnie grow from fluffy yellow chicks two months ago to now beautiful adolescent geese soon to take their first flights in about a month.
I want to be sure they are around to spread those wings and take to the air that first time.
From the Boat Lake, I walked to the Reservoir to check on the roughly dozen geese who have been molting there over the early summer.
The Reservoir is fairly large and it is difficult to see clearly across it especially at night.
I don't always see the geese if they are towards the north side of the Reservoir and normally that is not cause for concern.
However, on the heels of the NY Times article, when not immediately seeing the geese last night, it nearly sent me into a panic.
Of course, I told myself they were simply on the other side of the water and such fear was over reactive.
But, I had to be sure.
Though it was an extremely steamy evening and I was already a bit bushed from walking all around the Boat Lake, I and my two smallish dogs set trail around the entire Reservoir.
Of course, I finally found the small gaggle of geese completely opposite to where I had started.
I wanted to yell at them for giving me such a fright!
But, instead, tossed out some sunflower seeds, which the dozen or so geese happily scooped up from the water.
Finally walking home from Central Park, I realized how these clandestine goose slaughters occurring around the city are turning some of us into neurotic and paranoid basket cases -- perhaps me, most of all.
It of course made little sense that a goose roundup would be conducted at the Reservoir which is surrounded by rocky inclines and thick foliage. There is no flat ground on which geese could be easily corralled and stuffed into crates. But, considering that nothing "makes sense" these days, we have learned well that nothing can be taken for granted or assumed in crisis. -- Even the normal protocols of issuing press releases announcing the start of goose culls.
That 255 geese have already been rounded up from around the city and are likely dead by now without us even having a "clue" this was happening is disturbing to say the least.
Additionally, the USDA "goal" is 400 geese.
That means there are another 140 geese from other areas still to be rounded up.
Temperatures today are supposed to reach 94 degrees in NYC.
Imagine the geese stuffed 5 and 6 to a crate, crammed in hot trucks and transported God only knows how many miles and hours away in 94 degree heat?
Carol Bannerman of the USDA has some gall to talk about geese being "stressed" by people taking photos.
The geese are well used to that.
What they are not used to is the barbarity and callousness at the bloody hands of the USDA Wildlife (Death) Services.
It is extremely hard to find any "silver linings" in all this injustice, secrecy, carnage and outright lies.
But, there are a couple.
The first is that thus far, none of the geese from parks that we have been monitoring have been rounded up.
While it is too soon to tell if our monitoring efforts with cameras had any effect in preventing roundups, early indications might seem to suggest that -- but again, far too premature to make any claims or judgments.
Personally, I just feel horrible for the geese who ultimately are falling victim to the remote and difficult to access locations they chose to molt and our seeming inability to find people to monitor and watch over them.
Sometimes, life or death becomes a matter of blind luck.
The other silver lining is represented by the comments to the Times article.
So far, there are 47 comments and about 98% of them passionately oppose the roundups and defend the geese.
That is significant change from last year when the Times ran a similar article and public reaction was somewhat split.
As said yesterday, "change" (particularly in terms of public perception) comes slowly, but it does come.
I deeply hope that more people concerned and distressed about this issue take the five minutes or so to make those feelings known in comment to the Times.
At the moment, this is one of the very few venues and platforms we have to defend these innocent victims from ruthless and seemingly unending massacre.
As said yesterday, the change that needs to and will inevitably come needs to happen before the last goose is gone and dead from New York City. -- PCA
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