Posted on 07/04/2010 4:46:21 PM PDT by Willie Green
BRADFORD – Readers at UnionLeader.com expressed outrage yesterday that the federal government had rounded up and euthanized 21 Canada geese on Lake Todd on June 23, in a response to at least two property owners' concerns.
For seven years, the geese -- considered the largest, most common water birds -- have been fouling lawns and beaches along the 50-acre pond, which straddles the Bradford and Newbury town line.
Federal officials said two property owners paid for the round up, gassing and killing of the now-flightless geese and their goslings.
Their bodies were frozen and will be chopped up and fed to captive animals, said Carol Bannerman, public affairs specialist for wildlife services for the U.S. Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services in Riverdale, Md.
USDA follows guidelines established by the American Veterinary Medical Association on euthanasia of these birds when they are considered a nuisance, she said. Complaints about Canada geese are on the rise in New Hampshire with the resident population now at more than 30,000. The state has a goal, set by the Atlantic Flyway Council, of 16,000 for the goose population.
Last year, about 43 geese were euthanized in the state at three different locations, up from the year before when there were no euthanizations.
►Decision to euthanize NH geese creates flap (115)
Dick Wright of Newbury, who lives near the lake, wrote letters to the editor of New Hampshire newspapers last week decrying the practice. He said the problem is property owners who create large lawns and fake beaches, which attract the birds to stay.
Bannerman did not disagree that the geese like to eat lawns and stay on them to keep their eye out for predators.
Jared Teutsch, president of the NH Lakes Association, said conflict between the Canada geese and lakefront property owners is on the increase across the state.
He said native shores of brush are in some cases being replaced by lawns and man-made beaches. That is a welcome mat for migratory geese to settle down and nest. Once born here, they return and bear their own young and have lifespans of up to 25 years.
Teutsch said in the state "There has been a lack of emphasis on shrubbing your shore." He noted the revised 2009 Comprehensive Shoreland Protection Act law allows for landowners who insist on such green sloping views of their expensive shorefront to have that, as long as they plant trees.
At www.UnionLeader.com, more than 100 people had posted comments on the story by midnight. The majority were opposed to the practice of eliminating the geese in this way.
Others, however, said Canada geese are becoming a problem and some solution is needed.
One reader argued that if the government were to eliminate the birds, property owners "should be required to alter their property," to discourage more birds from replacing the ones euthanized.
Many wanted the names of the property owners exposed. The government declined to identify them.
Some suggested dogs such as border collies could be employed to keep geese off personal property.
Others suggested an extension to the state's three-week long resident Canada goose hunting season, but others, such as Michael King, lamented that there are not enough hunters to do the job.
Hope Ullman of Wolfeboro said the story disgusted her and said the use of the word "euthanize" was a misnomer.
"It's murder," she said.
Jeb Harkins of Hancock sympathized with the situation and noted that he finds himself having to be careful to not step in Canada goose feces and that they have been a problem on golf courses for years.
A Canada goose can eliminate between a half pound and a pound of feces a day.
Some suggested the government might spend less and be more humane by considering relocation of the birds.
While most of the Canada geese are non-residents, resident populations have quadrupled between 1990 and 2008 along the Atlantic Flyway, according to federal estimates.
Since 1993 complaints have increased three-fold, according to a federal Environmental Impact Statement issued in 2002.
New Hampshire's resident Canada goose hunting season is Sept. 8-25 with a daily bag limit of five and a possession limit of 10. The season ends before non-resident Canada geese begin their migratory flight.
Some suggested an extension of the season and an increase in the bag limit.
Open season in the South in the summer, and open season in the North in the winter — problem solved.
These birds are supposed to migrate.
Shoot ‘em. Eat ‘em.
Kill ‘em and grill ‘em. (Thanks, Nuge)
I read today that during the 18th Century that colonial Americans kept flocks of geese, but NOT for food - they plucked the feathers 2 or 3 times a year, and that in one New England town there were so many loud honking geese everywhere that one couldn’t hear the sermons in church on Sundays.
Goose is pretty tasty, although you can hurt your tooth on buckshot.
I like the dog idea, although we don’t currently have the problem.
After all, we have an outdoor mouser cat, an indoor bug killing (assault) kitten, and the two dogs, running around sixty pounds or so, simply to do two cans of food, plus dried food, each, daily.
Well, they’re cute and lovable, but there’s something to be said for working for a living...
In the comments in the Union Leader was one that stood out: “target practice”. And given that you can shoot in your backyard around here...
I believe that. My east Texas grammie born in the 1870’s made her own feather mattress and pillows from her own chickens feathers.
I think the DEQ quietly eliminated quite a few swans where I live. There were about 60 of them on a couple hundred acres of water and trust me, that’s too many. Now all of a sudden there are only about a dozen of them.
For some strange reason, the invasive species is protected. (Mute sawns)
My female gets petted, fed and sleeps.
I’ve been telling my wife’s boy, who likes to chase cars, that he needs to return with a red Miata complete with a cute blond.
No such luck yet, but then he is her’s, so what else would you expect?
They’re effing disgusting. I can’t even take my daughter to the North Shore in Pittsburgh because the goose crap is literally EVERYWHERE!!!! I went jogging there last summer & still have goose turds embedded in the tires of my stroller. Disgusting. And the stupid liberal tree huggers sit oo-ing & ahh-ing at them while they feed them so they can load up with more crap. Gross.
My heart goes out to animals, up to the point where I'm hip-deep in a species that does nothing constructive and makes a problem of itself. We actually have commercial services for scaring them away here.
“I just read this story to my Jack Russel Terriers. They are all pumped and want to sign up for goose duty.”
I’d discourage them. Canada geese are strong, mean, and MUCH bigger than your little dogs. They can give a human (or even a bigger dog) a pretty hard time.
Of course, your doggies don’t KNOW how small they are, do they?
No one would bother them if they would stop leaving their cigar butts on the sidewalks...
oh wait those aren’t old stogies.
Here in Michigan, every pond you see has canadian geese hanging around....yuk...
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