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Anyone reading this blog on regular basis, knows I am not an avid fan of goose harassment and egg addling -- especially when these methods are used in extreme, to entirely empty a lake or pond of all existing geese.
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However, even I concede that these methods are highly effective in lowering and eventually eliminating goose populations as has been aptly described in Central Park in New York City over the past several years.
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Nevertheless, despite the availability of proven, non-lethal goose "management" tools such as Border Collie harassment and egg addling, there are communities across our country that still resort to barbaric and indefensible goose roundups and slaughters.
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The latest on this nefarious list is Ozark, Missouri, where this past Monday, they chased, hit with boat paddles and eventually corralled 60 Canada geese and their goslings. The adult geese were sent to slaughter. Their orphaned babies were dropped off at a remote location where they either become fodder for predators or starve to death:
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It is disappointing that there was no formal protest to this horrific and unjustifiable event (for which the excuse was "goose poop on shoes") at the location itself. But, indeed it is imperative to post comment to the actual article and accompanying video. (Click the comment box, alongside the social media icons.)
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The "good news" in this travesty is that the reporter did a good job in asking all the right questions of the Animal Control officer (James Dixon) in charge of the roundup and filming the video.
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We learn from the article and interview that this community did nothing in terms of implementing effective non-lethal goose management. We learn there were foxes in the area a few years ago that mysteriously disappeared. (The speculation of "flooding" is dubious insofar as wildlife predators completely vanishing from a location. -- Especially a location that slaughters harmless birds for "poop on shoes.") And we learn from comments that there is an event occurring in the park in a couple of days ("Sertoma Duck Race") that is likely the real impetus for the roundup. ("Cleaning house," so to speak.)
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The bottom line is that these 60 geese and their goslings died for no justifiable reason. Sixty geese is not "overpopulation" by any stretch of the imagination on a large lake. Waterfowl are natural to watercourses.
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Trying to make a massacre palatable by claiming that sickly, molting geese will be "fed to the poor" or that their orphaned babies are sent to some "distant conservation area" is insult to the intelligence of any thinking and reasonable person.
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The molting geese and their babies would have naturally left this park as soon as they grew their flight feathers.
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Please post comment directly to the article. Thanks. -- PCA
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Thank you Patty for your intelligent and compelling article about the recent Canada Goose slaughter. I remember Central Park at a time when there were Cormorants, Canada Geese and other fowl in the lakes. They were beautiful. People enjoyed watching them and probably never thought that one day our birds would be victims of hate campaigns. Speciesism has been compared to racism by some and I do see that it's true because the hatred of Canada Geese is directed at them for a kind of intolerance that makes no sense. A hatred of what they are, of their very existence thus the rationale of slaughtering sixty geese who are molting because they poop. People who have money and a sense of entitlement are buying property and moving near nature. They pay for elections so local government thinks they can ignore international treaties like the Migratory Bird Act and do whatever they want. We are watching a scene from Mad Max.
ReplyDeleteThank you, Tyler for your insightful comment and for helping to get the word out. The bottom line is that unless people are bravely willing to speak up in defense of our vunerable and helpless geese, thees massacres will continue throughout the country (including New York City).
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