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.
These days you would be in deep doo doo if your dog killed that many Canada geese
They are lovely birds but I would love to see their population reduced. Poison them or shoot them I don’t care.
Seems like a lot of very envious eco-kooks up there. They don’t much like rich people having big lawns so they get a chance to be evil and vindictive to the swells who want to get rid of the Canada geese plague that makes their big lawns into open air goose latrines
I mean how can you enjoy your nice big lawn if you are going to break your neck slipping on a fresh turd?
What did these creatures look like before they evolved into birds?
Yanno, back when you were a kid?
A groundskeeper at a local golf club got fed up with the flyin rats and brought his shotgun to work one day. He got a dozen and some. Community was sympathetic, but they fired the guy.
About 4,000 were killed by Washington Fish & Game Dept. in Kirkland/Bellvue area awhile ago because they were not “migratory” and were pooping in the park that is frequented by the Liberal folks in that area. It is one of the few access points to Lake Washington still open to the public.
There is a retention pond down the street from my house that attracts geese. When I walk my golden retriever in the area they disappear pretty quickly. Do they perceive the dog as a predator? Like a wolf?
run thru windmills and feed the shredded poultry to the starving Baraqqi masses
Not well, but I’d like to get to know one or two much better. Lion-heart, mouse-body. ;)
I’ve had a few other dogs like that, though. Charge hell WITHOUT a bucket of water. All guts, no sense as all. ;)
Heck, I’ve got two like that, now, just larger than your average JRT. One blue-tick-X Mutt, and one either serious mutt or Belgian Griffon. 35 & 10 lbs, respectively. Seems to me JRT’s would run about half or less than the littler of my two. I’ve run into several Canada Geese bigger than the larger of mine, and THEY they all think they’re Jurassic Park Velociraptors when they get upset with someone.
What a waste. Round them up and feed them good food for a couple of weeks, and there is enough meat on a Canada Goose to feed a family of six a hearty roast goose dinner.
How to prepare a roast goose.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y0BHzKk-URM
Years ago at 6AM I drove through some pigeons, trying to off a few. I'll admit I had imbibed a few the night before
Anyways I broke my car's plastic grill and was out $60 to replace it
Pigeons are so filthy, are the only birds I hate. I like Canada geese but they need to be thinned way way back. Why do chuckle head libs always cave into animals overwhelming them? It's nutty and bizarre.
euthenizing. That means “killing,” right?
Why don’t they just say that?
euthenizing is LEFTIST for killing.
It just makes them feel better and more rightous to say it. And do it the most expensive and difficult way possible.
I watched an adult Canada goose chase off a red fox once. It was quite a show. Nasty creatures, those geese.
Surprised they don’t call it murder........actually.
Just consider it a pilot project for Soylent Green. Freeze it into 5lb blocks and distribute it along with Government cheese
At the end of the day their supervisor asked Boudreaux and Thibodeaux how many pelicans they had cleaned.
Boureaux said he had cleaned 7 pelicans and Thibodeaux cleaned 10.
The supervisor asked to see where they had put the cleaned pelicans so they can be returned to the wild.
Boudreaux said "Mine in dat big pot. I'm makin' gumbo. And Thibodeauxs in dat other big pot. He's making a stew. You want us to make some potato salad?"
I have a 20 year old pump action BB rifle, and I've actually offed four squirrels with it this year; success rate, though, is less than half - penetration wise.
I'm halfway hoping one of our desert rattlesnakes comes into the yard this summer so I can try it on that....I don't like getting so close with the hoe; wifey's terrified I'll slip and fall during the decapitation process. I figure I can get within six feet and cap a few copper bb's into it's gourd and see what happens.
Hunters are bad dontcha know
;)
Yea my buddy once almost got fired from his job at a cemetery for throwing a rock in the general direction of a bunch of these vermin.
They crap all over the This award winning cemetery and there is not a thing they can do about it.
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