Here's my suggested pills for the problem.
Posted on 08/21/2007 6:01:24 PM PDT by Coleus
New Jerseyans have captured, killed, harassed, scared and chased them. Volunteers search out their nests. For the past couple of decades, it's been a pitched battle of humans versus Canada geese for control of golf courses, parks, corporate centers, beach areas and athletic fields statewide. Now, there is a new, non-lethal tool in the fight to cut the Canada geese population: The pill.
A North Caldwell man and his California partner have developed a contraceptive that could limit Canada geese births. Just like in humans, Canada geese would have to take a prescribed regular daily dose of the drug and the likelihood of producing offspring would be quite low.
"I don't want to tell you this is a magical cure. But it's definitely a long-term population management tool to help deal with Canada geese," said Erick Wolf, who along with North Caldwell's Alex MacDonald, is co-partner of California-based Innolytics.
The product they are marketing is OvaControl. Its primary ingredient is a drug called Nicarbazin, first used in the 1950s to battle disease in chickens. It was effective in preventing coccidiosis, a contagious parasitic disease, in chickens, reducing their mortality from 35 percent to 1 percent. An offshoot, scientists found, was that it decreased hatchability and egg production.
That caught the attention of MacDonald and Wolf.
About a decade ago they began researching use of Nicarbazin on Canada geese. They have since gotten OvaControl registered by the federal Environmental Protection Agency for use as a pest control agent for Canada geese and feral pigeons.
(Excerpt) Read more at nj.com ...
Sure it works, just like the birth control pills for deer.
Just ask the people pushing this, and they’ll tell you, they are on the verge of a breakthrough (where no more animals will be killed, or hunted), where you can control overpopulated animals, just as soon as you send them some more money to help them finance it (grin).
Save the Canada Goose (for MY dinner plate!) :)
I'll be damned if they are allowed to progress another step further and become managers of wildlife using the public purse to fund dumb ideas, like hiring teams of enviro-nuts to run around and feed birth control to migrating birds, which might have serious repercussions, which will end up affecting MY hunting rights, and pollute wild meat with hormone laced drugs
“...and pollute wild meat with hormone laced drugs.”
Excellent point. The whole POINT of eating wild game is just that; it’s NATURAL.
You’re right, they should scrap this birth control idea and go back to a proven control method, the shotgun and longer hunting seasons. :-)
Nah. Just wait until the goose coccidiosis starts to wear off and they’ll have double or triple geese to worry about.
Here's my suggested pills for the problem.
Mine too! I've got my Chessie and shotgun ready for hunting season......yipee!
If you compare domesticated ducks and geese to wild ones, the domestic ones are real fat and greesy
Unhealthy animals and birds that would normally die and be rejected as a breeding mate in the wild, end up breeding and weaken the herd/flocks when they escape into the wild.
I wonder, Geese being migratory birds, are they not protected by international laws? I would think that tampering with the flocks would need to be discussed and approved in that forum, it's not a decision to be made by the state of California.
I guess we'll just have to see what happens. As a hunter, I don't want to see these people start messing with wild game, we all know the other agendas these nuts have, and I wouldn't put it past them to decimate the population of geese in order to stop hunting.
Anybody know how much money the “Fund For Animals” has contributed to wildlife management? I do, NOTHING!!!!
But these people know a lot more about wildlife management than the biologists, or you and I.
I would be more than happy to go on their website, find their mailing address, and get golf courses, homeowners, etc. having problems with the overpopulated geese trap them all and send them to that address!!!
But the Fund for Animals and their kind do have an impact on WL management, as the article below illustrates:
Goose Hunt Cancelled Due to Anti-Hunting Group Lawsuit
chattanoogan.com ^ | August 8, 2007 | NA
Posted on 08/10/2007 6:32:51 PM EDT by neverdem
Fund for Animals claim violations of National Environmental Policy Act
The Quota Goose Hunts scheduled on the Tennessee National Wildlife Refuge, Duck River Bottoms Unit for Resident Geese has bee canceled.
The scheduled “non-quota hunt” will continue.
A news release issued by the Department of the Interior and U. S. Fish and Wildlife Service said, “The Tennessee National Wildlife Refuge has just learned that the new quota hunt for resident Canada geese in the Duck River Bottoms must be canceled due to a pending lawsuit by Fund for Animals. In 2003 Fund for Animals sued the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service alleging that the Service did not meet the requirements of the National Environmental Policy Act in opening hunt programs at 37 refuges across the nation. That lawsuit is still pending, and processes associated with it are the cause for the quota hunt cancellation. More information on the lawsuit is available HERE.
However, the opportunity still exists in Duck River Bottoms for non-quota hunting for resident Canada goose. The non-quota hunt will be held September 1 through September 7, 2007. Unlike the quota hunt that has been canceled, the non-quota hunt will not be limited to designated hunt areas or zones in the Duck River Bottoms
Hunters who purchased a $12.50 annual hunt permit specifically for the quota goose hunt on the Duck River Bottoms are encouraged to contact the Paris Headquarters Office at 731-642-2091 if they would like to obtain a refund. Hunters who intend to hunt non-quota for resident Canada goose, or any other species later in the year (deer, wild turkey, raccoon, and squirrel) are still required to obtain a $12.50 refuge annual hunt permit.
Tennessee National Wildlife Refuge has been providing hunting opportunities to the public for 44 years. The first hunt was in 1963 for white-tail deer. Since then the refuge has expanded its hunting opportunities to also include wild turkey, raccoon, and squirrel. In 2005 the refuge opened a resident Canada goose hunt. Currently the refuge provides public hunting opportunities that are enjoyed by nearly 2,000 hunters.
In both the National Wildlife Refuge System Administrative Act and the National Wildlife Refuge System Improvement Act, Congress expressly recognized the legitimacy of recreational hunting on units of the refuge system. Nationwide wildlife refuges offer opportunities for visitors to hunt, fish, watch wildlife, take photographs, and participate in environmental and interpretive programs when these activities are compatible with wildlife conservation programs. In recent years more than two million refuge visitors participated in regulated hunts for deer, waterfowl, and other game species.
The Tennessee National Wildlife Refuge regrets any inconvenience caused to hunters due to this cancellation of its quota hunt for resident Canada goose. For questions or to discuss this change, please contact the refuge office at 731-642-2091.”
Soon there will be no animals in New Jersey who can reproduce. Maybe that's a good thing.
We are blessed to live right on the “flight path” between two bodies of water. The geese fly right over our farm at daybreak and sunset, in season.
It’s not unusual for us to be milling around back behind the barn with a coffee mug in one hand, and a shotgun nearby waiting for the easiest hunting of your life. :)
Man, they’re tasty and I also have three black plastic trash bags full of down that will be put to good use in a comforter that I’m working on. They are extremely useful critters. :)
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