Help Save 170,000 Canada Geese in NY
The DEC says "All Canada geese, including resident flocks, are protected by Federal and State laws and regulations. In New York, management responsibility for Canada geese is shared by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS), U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), and the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC). It is illegal to hunt, kill, sell, purchase, or possess migratory birds or their parts (feathers, nests, eggs, etc.) except as permitted by regulations adopted by USFWS and DEC". So why are Canada Geese being captured and gassed under the cover of darkness and removed by the thousands around airports in NYS by sharp shooters? If the state DEC can gas "nuisance geese", tell us what makes a goose a nuisance goose? We have to learn to share our living spaces with other creatures. If you build a pond or lake in NY you will in get muskrats, beaver and water fowl in all likelihood moving in to make their home there. It is natural and it is normal. People love the water fowl in parks for the most part. Culling a few birds is one thing, sneaking in at night and gassing 400 birds is quite another. We are not anti-hunting or some kind of militant activists , we are people who respect all life and want to see the State of New York treat water fowl as the very smart and social, living beings with feelings they are not like an infestation of bedbugs. Please join us in sending a message that its time to change the way things are done and time to respect nature. Part of our objection to this gassing and dumping of bodies is it is incredibly wasteful besides being inhumane. It is shameful these birds are being bagged and dumped in landfills.
The New York State plans to eliminate 170,000 Canada geese.
That means two-thirds of the current population could be exterminated.
The aggressive plan is a reaction to the crash of US Airways Flight 1549 last year.
Earlier this month, 400 geese in Prospect Park were euthanized and the U.S. Department of Agriculture has been removing the birds from several locations near JFK and LaGuardia Airports.
State Senator Eric Adams lead a vigil for the departed geese. Adams said there are more humane ways to deal with the birds.
Please write to our representatives and wild life groups to stop the massacre? There are better and more humane ways of dealing with this problem.
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It now looks like the state will not be able to do what they did in Prospect Park to all the geese, at least for now. The geese are killed by the USDA at this time of year because they are molting and can't fly. Over 400 were rounded up and gassed in Prospect Park in Brooklyn, NY, July 8, 2010 thus completely removing the entire Canada geese population from that park's lake. Despite what the DEC would have you believe, gassing is a very painful death and is no longer even used to euthanize cats or dogs in NY. I suggest we all write our state and federal representatives and the authorities below to insure this plan to cut the goose population by 2/3 does not proceed despite this declaration by the DEC below. Please take the time to be heard to prevent further slaughter? I received this in a e-mail 7/28/10 and have posted the PDF. This PDF from the DEC below contains nothing new, it is almost exactly what their website says only they left out a key statement from the website in the letter in an attempt to pacify the public. I also received this same form letter PDF from the NY Audubon Society after writing them seeking answers.
"The DEC will continue to expand goose hunting opportunities wherever possible to help control or reduce resident goose populations. However, this is not an option in many urban and suburban areas, so capture and removal programs have become necessary."
Capture and removal means trap and gas. It should be noted here this is going on all over the USA, not just NY with the blessing of the DEC. In the situation in Prospect Park it happened under the cover of darkness with no warning to park users or anyone else. The press was not allowed near. The public did not know until the geese were slain.
There are better solutions than killing animals. A small flock of geese from other areas have moved into the Prospect Park lake in Brooklyn, NY to fill the void left by the slain 400. So tell me someone, what was the point of taking 400 lives? Before Autumn that lake will be full of birds. Once again there will be a lake full of geese within 7 miles of the airport again. Will they grab and gas again? Will the cowards come back in the cover of darkness and snuff out the lives of the new resident geese?
Please take the time to write?
To Write:
Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand
New York City Office
780 Third Avenue
Suite 2601
To Write:
Senator Charles E. Schumer
757 Third Avenue
Suite 17-02
New York, New York 10017
Write To:
Gov. David A. Paterson
State Capitol
Albany, NY 12224
To write
The Dept of Wildlife in New York:
New York State Department of Environmental Conservation
625 Broadway
Albany, New York 12233-0001
To write
Northeast Regional Office
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
300 Westgate Center Drive
Hadley, MA 01035-9589
*Assistant Regional Director, Migratory Birds and State Programs Sherry Morgan 413-253-8610
*Chief, Migratory Birds Diane Pence 413-253-8577
Write to:
225 Varick Street
7th floor
NY, NY 10014
Phone: (212) 979-3000
Write to:
New York State Office
195 New Karner Rd, Suite 200
Albany, NY 12205
Phone: (518) 690-7850
Fax: (518) 869-2332
Write to:
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
300 Westgate Center Drive
Hadley, MA 01035-9589
Write to:
Tom Vilsack
U.S. Department of Agriculture
1400 Independence Ave., S.W.
Washington, DC 20250
202-720-3631
What is GeesePeace?
Simply put, GeesePeace is dedicated to building better
communities though innovative, effective,
and humane solutions to wildlife conflicts.
Please Watch these videos for humane solutions to the Goose Problem?
"The greatness of a nation and its moral progress can be judged by the way its animals are treated."- Mahatma Gandhi
References and articles on the pending cull
Resident Geese on Lake Chautauqua 2010
Sadly the letter I received after writing Sen. Schumer completely ignored the questions I asked and did not address the Canada Geese gassing.
Dear Mrs. Boyle:
Thank you for taking the time to contact me regarding your concern for animal welfare. I share your belief that America must preserve its wildlife resources and strive to protect animals from unnecessary cruelty.
Throughout my legislative career I have maintained a strong commitment to protecting the rights of animals. I was proud to support the passage of P.L. 106-152, a law banning the interstate trade in "crush videos." Under this law, it is illegal to engage in the interstate commercial distribution of materials depicting animal cruelty, specifically the crushing of small animals by women wearing high-heeled shoes. I was also a co-sponsor of P.L. 106-247, which requires the Secretary of the Interior to establish a program to provide financial assistance for projects to promote the conservation of neotropical migratory birds.
I also supported legislation designed to conserve our wildlife resources, including my co-sponsorship of S.1007, the Great Ape Conservation Act, which would allocate funding for great ape conservation projects around the world. In addition, I was a co-sponsor of S.2725, the CHIMP Act. The CHIMP Act establishes a system of sanctuaries where chimpanzees no longer needed for HIV-related research are guaranteed quality care and supervision for the remainder of their lives.
In the 106th Congress I also made the protection of animals from unnecessary cruelty a top priority on my agenda. I was a co-sponsor of S.345, which would modify the Animal Welfare Act in order to prohibit the interstate transportation of birds for use in fights. I sought to protect injured livestock from unnecessarily inhumane treatment by co-sponsoring S.515, the Downed Animal Protection Act, and worked to ban the sale of products made with dog and cat fur by co-sponsoring S.1197, the Dog and Cat Protection Act.
In recognition of my efforts on behalf animal rights, last year the Humane Society of the United States awarded my voting record on animal welfare legislation a score of 100%. Although I am proud of the accomplishments made on behalf of animal rights so far, I am aware that there are still many animal welfare issues remaining to be addressed. Rest assured that I am prepared to continue my fight on behalf of animal rights.
Once again, thank you for taking the time to write to me about these important issues. If I may be of any future assistance, please do not hesitate to contact me.
Sincerely,
Charles E. Schumer
United States Senator
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