Last week, wildlife biologists and technicians working with the federal Agriculture Department herded 400 250 geese into a fenced area, packed them into crates (two or three geese at a time) and took them to a nearby building where they were gassed with lethal doses of carbon dioxide.
Horrific.
This “genocide” was done in the name of aviation safety. Carole A. Bannerman, a spokesperson for the federal Agriculture Department, told the New York Times that these murders were necessary: “The thing to always remember in this New York situation is that we are talking about aviation and passenger and property safety,” she said. “In New York City, from 1981 to 1999, the population increase was sevenfold.”
The geese have been on the chopping block since geese flew into the engines of a US Airways Flight. The pilot averted disaster by landing on the surface of the Hudson River.
I understand the aviation risk that a huge population of geese pose but the thought of these geese being rounded up holocaust style in our park is just disgusting.
An OTBKB reader wrote in with this comment:
It seems to me that the plane incident is being used to eliminate the geese because certain parks and city officials think they are a nuisance. But the killings are a useless operation. Years ago an experiment was done with Starlings in forested area. They were removed and killed several times and always other Starlings came to replace them. The irony is that these geese were almost extinct early in the 20th century. Must we as a species always get rid of what we feel gets in the way of our lifestyles? So now we have a barren lake, devoid of most wildlife. And for what? For a threat that does not really exist…these were resident birds, not migrants. What a great example for all the children who used to enjoy them. Shame on the city, Adrian Benape, Tupper Thomas, the Prospect Park Alliance and the Federal government.
What do you think?
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You are most welcome Jon! Wow, people are so polite here……
Jim M. –
You’ve convinced me. Here I thought this was nothing more than bureaucratic ass-covering, but you’ve gone and nailed it. The Department of Agriculture realized that these 400 geese, which never left Prospect Park, were in fact plotting to take down a plane next week! Thank you Jim M., thank you for clearing it all up.
Jon Bonanno
I prefer that some birds be killed than to have a plane full of humans come crashing down on my head.
Perfect comment, Louise, from your reader, particularly this:
“Must we as a species always get rid of what we feel gets in the way of our lifestyles? So now we have a barren lake, devoid of most wildlife. And for what? For a threat that does not really exist…these were resident birds, not migrants. What a great example for all the children who used to enjoy them. Shame on the city, Adrian Benape, Tupper Thomas, the Prospect Park Alliance and the Federal government.”
Brenda, if you look into the facts, you’ll see that they have nothing to do with being “pro-human” and this does not make any of our flying safer. It is senseless, horrific, tragic, unnecessary killing of another species. I am pro-let’s-try-to-live-with-other-species-in-a-kind-manner and remember we SHARE this space (the earth) with them. “Pro-human” can be a misguided position to take, and is in this instance. The killing of the geese is all PR and does nothing for “humans.” I’d say there is ALWAYS a way around killing – if those making the decisions choose to seek it out instead of falling to lazy, misguided actions.
I’ve posted some additional information, a letter activist & Brooklynite Mitchel Cohen sent to Susan Elbin from the Audobon Society (and copied to others and list serves) that has information in it that is important to know and sums it up well.
best, Cathryn (I’ll be writing something up on my blog tomorrow. I write about parks & public space.)
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Sent to: Susan Elbin, NYC Audobon
Dear Ms. Elbin,
Today’s NY Times quotes you as supporting the federal government’s (USDA’s) invasion of Brooklyn’s Prospect Park last Thursday to round up, bind, and murder (gassing) of 400 wonderful Canadian geese who were resident geese in our park.
“Susan Elbin, conservation director at New York City Audubon, was cautiously supportive of the mass euthanizing. ‘There are ways to manage birds nonlethally,’ Ms. Elbin said. ‘But if you’re trying to manage a population level, sometimes those hard decisions need to be made.'”
It is beyond comprehension that you, speaking on behalf of the NYC Audubon society, would rationalize this horror. I am flabbergasted that you did not point out to the NY Times that:
– the Prospect Park geese — and in fact most of the geese that they have been rounding up and killing — were “resident geese” who lived in the Park and nearby Greenwood Cemetery year round;
– after Flight 1549 came down in January 2009, the Smithsonian Institute issued a report stating that the plane collided with a flock of MIGRATORY geese, distinct from resident geese;
– Killing resident geese does nothing to heighten air safety; it is a ruse enabling the Bloomberg administration, the NYC Parks Department, and the USDA to make it look like they’re doing something when what they’re doing is ineffective and cruel;
– In other countries, they track birds’ migratory patterns — which are fairly consistent and can be noted by radar — and change airline flight routes accordingly so that they don’t hit birds. But the exigencies in the making of corporate profits here make it too inconvenient and costly for the giant airlines companies and US officials to change the flight patterns of their airplanes. It’s much easier and financially profitable to get the government to go in and pretend they’re doing something — even if what they’re doing is in actuality totally irrelevant to protecting public safety.
– The geese in Prospect Park were a joy to behold. Children loved feeding them; they befriended them, and helped those who were injured. These geese — our friends! — became the gateway through which children (and adults) learned to care about nature. And now the government has killed them, unnecessarily. Tell that to the kids, that the government has murdered their friends. And tell them that the NYC Audubon supports such cruelty.
– While the Bloomberg administration tries to wash its hands of any responsibility, the NYC Parks Department “signed permission for the removal of the birds” instead of opposing it and alerting the public, thus setting this whole chain of events into motion;
– The wildlife biologists and technicians who “descended on the park Thursday morning and herded the birds into a fenced area,” and who were “working with the federal Agriculture Department, then packed the geese two or three to a crate and took them to a nearby building where they were gassed with lethal doses of carbon dioxide,” are criminals who should have their licenses removed every bit as much as medical professionals who “assist” in torture in Guantanamo are acting in violation of their oaths and purpose.
Shame on the NYC Audubon for not protecting such species as resident geese. The Audubon Society has a certain amount of credibility on these issues and should be far more critical of government decisions that are harming natural life.
Mitchel Cohen
on behalf of the Brooklyn Greens / Green Party, and
Coordinator, No Spray Coalition (against toxic pesticides)
(from: mitchelcohen-at-mindspring.com)
The geese were both a nuisance and a hazard; the lake will not be ‘barren’ and in fact may be more hospitable to other species that the gluttonous, overpopulating geese were outcompeting as an invasive species. You will not find me among those who decry the “murder” of the geese and question our “right” to cull the population for aviation safety. I am unapologetically pro-human.