|
The blood red carpet has been laid out by city and federal politicians, governmental agencies and the National Park Services.
.
The "rogue" federal agency known as USDA Wildlife Services has once again embarked upon our great city with its trailers, corrals, turkey crates and contract orders for goose slaughter.
.
This is the same agency that has been the subject of Congressional investigations as well as a series of expose articles by the Sacramento Bee's Tom Knudson and other respected writers:
.
.
.
Perhaps city leaders don't read newspapers. Or, perhaps they just don't care as their constituents don't require them to care about wildlife matters of abuse.
.
I spent a good deal of this morning calling political representatives' offices (including the new mayor's) to express personal grief over continuing goose massacres in New York City -- though I know such calls are impotent in actually stopping the carnage.
.
It was simply important to register protest as a matter of principle.
.
The only thing actually learned from the morning's series of calls was that a goose roundup and slaughter is again scheduled for Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge, as it has occurred there for the past three years. (This, despite there being few geese to actually capture and kill now.)
.
But, the woman from JBWR could (or would) not tell me exactly when.
.
As usual, USDA WS works in secret with few actually knowing the dates, times, locations and details of their wildlife culls.
.
One simply shows up in their local park one day to discover all their geese are suddenly gone. If questioning the whys and wherefores, most people are typically told by park officials that the molting (flightless) geese magically took off and flew away.
.
Most people believe the stories because it is uncomfortable to realize one is being boldly lied to and assumed to be ignorant by park officials.
.
Fortunately, in 2010, two aware people did not buy the lies told to them by Prospect Park officials and instead went to The New York Times.
.
The next day, the story broke nationwide of the 362 PP geese and goslings rounded up by USDA and sent for gassing. It was a story that continued to run for weeks in the Times:
.
.
But, these days it seems few are willing to question or protest the goose slaughters now occurring annually in New York City -- much less go to the media about them. This is true even when the slaughters are known to occur in advance.
.
This morning, for example, another USDA WS goose roundup reportedly took place at Inwoods Hills Park again. (This according to GooseWatch.)
.
Inwood Hills Park has been on WS "hit list" for some years and it was well anticipated that another roundup would occur there this year. (USDA even suggested as much in its summation document: USDA NYC Roundups 2009-2014 )
.
Nevertheless, it seems no community resident was apparently around Inwood Hills Park this morning with camera or cell phone to document the roundup or complain to the press. In the past, many residents of the Inwood Hills Park area expressed anger and grief over the culls in their local park. But, perhaps like NY State Director of WS, Martin Lowney, confidently asserts, they "get upset for a while and then go home and turn on football."
.
For all intensive purposes, the Inwood Hills Park goose roundup and slaughter didn't happen because residents and press failed to document and report.
.
We can wait until USDA WS publishes its "Goose Roundup Report" in a few months to get actual goose numbers killed at Inwood.
.
But by that time, the goose bodies will be long under a bridge or in a land fill. Few will care or even want to know about them.
.
It seems in New York City, we have either become immune to the wildlife slaughters occurring in our parks annually or worse, have come to accept and even support them.
.
Next stop, Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge (again).
.
USDA Wildlife Extermination Services, your blood red carpet awaits with nary a protest or even observance. Congratulations on still another victory over the hapless and defenseless wildlife of our New York City parks.
.
But, the stain of their blood and unpardonable suffering will never entirely wash from your hands. -- PCA
.
.
. ***********
No comments:
Post a Comment