Posted on 04/30/2003 8:58:37 AM PDT by oldoverholt
Cop kills goose that pecked his dog Officer faces possible 1-day suspension for killing aggressive bird trying to protect its nest. By Tom Spalding tom.spalding@indystar.com April 30, 2003
The seesawing Indianapolis feud between humans and Canada geese has escalated again, this time after an angry bird pecked a fight with the wrong man.
Indianapolis Police Officer Mitch Waters was letting his K-9 partner take care of business when a goose, trying to protect a nearby nest, swooped over a fence and nipped at the dog's nose.
Waters opened fire.
"He did what he thought he had to do to protect his dog," said spokesman Lt. Paul Ciesielski of the Indianapolis Police Department.
The goose did not survive.
Now Waters could be in trouble, too. His supervisor has recommended a one-day suspension for unnecessary use of a firearm in the April 13 shooting.
The recommendation will be considered by an IPD firearms review board and possibly by Chief Jerry Barker.
Waters couldn't be reached for comment Tuesday.
Canada geese, estimated at more than 100,000 in the state, have found Indiana a great place to settle down and raise families.
But they are messy and highly aggressive around their nests -- traits that sparked several run-ins this month.
Two condo owners were investigated after allegedly destroying nests, and a Plainfield man was treated at a hospital after being knocked to the ground and pecked bloody by two geese guarding their eggs.
The birds have become such a headache that state officials persuaded federal authorities to grant 1,800 permits to destroy goose nests this year.
The permits let eggs be destroyed but don't allow killing of adult birds.
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Call Star reporter Tom Spalding at 1-317-327-7939
$20K, more?, less?
Imagine the trouble this officer would have been in if he had let the goose permanently injure the dog? Peck an eye out...etc. Making the dog useless for police duty.
That said, the officer probably over-reacted a bit. He should have gone to non-violent intervention first - talk to the goose, get in touch with its feelings, bring in a negotiator. Or he should have let the dog rip its FReepin' head off. Either way.
I agree. The dog should have been able to take of itself. Another thing. If "we" left their natural habitats alone, the geese would not be around people anyway.
Yeah, we ought to put a stop to all that senseless farming and ranching that interferes with natural habitat. < /sarcasm >
So9
I feel SO much safer knowing that he'll be free to excercise his (apparently bottomless) lack of judgement after his one-day paid vaction from 'duty'. Better lock up your cats if he's in the neighborhood, as he's likely to shoot them (and you for good measure) for hissing at his valuable canine partner.
To be more historically accurate, you mean: "We, now, use dogs for watchgeese."
I think he should be re-evaluated for his fitness as a police officer. This indicates he is quick to go for the gun and pull the trigger. This time is was just a goose, but the next time it could be a person.
There was a scene in Gladiator of a sentor's villa with a large courtyard and resident gaggle. Historically accurate.
Wait until PETA hears about this!
You don't know much about Canadian geese.
You are right. So I did a little looking.
Impact of Canada Geese in the U.S.
A. IDENTIFICATION
1. The Issue
Canada geese, once treated unequivocally as beautiful symbols of the majesty of nature, are now perceived by many East coast American suburbanites and business-people as just common pests, no different than rats. Lately, the geese have populated suburbs, golf courses, parks and recreational waters in ever-increasing numbers, and their droppings and penchant for short-cut grass have sparked several angry reactions. As a result of new behavioral patterns--namely the recent unwillingness to migrate to Canada, as their name would imply--reinforced by the spread of suburban developments and golf courses, laws protecting Canada geese have come under attack: the geese's protected status, many feel, no longer reflects their actual conditions in the wild. Both private and commercial concerns have pressured the federal and state governments to allow thinning of the geese's population that will benefit productivity across several economic sectors, namely the tourism service sector. The Canada geese case-study presents an interesting policy dilemma: how much should the environment be protected--is there such a thing as too much protection?
2. Description
Canada geese are protected by the United States Fish and Wildlife Service under the Migratory Bird Treaty Act of 1918 and the Migratory Bird Conservation Act of 1929. The former, the implementation of a 1916 convention signed by the United States and Canada, prohibits the hunting, possessing, purchasing and exporting of migratory birds "or any part, or egg of any such bird." However, the Secretary of the Interior is also authorized to legalize temporary hunting of migratory birds "based on due regard to distribution, abundance, and breeding habits." States may implement additional laws that are tougher in enforcement. Violations of this act constitute federal felonies and are subject to fines and imprisonment. The Migratory Bird Conservation Act authorizes the funding and maintenance of wild migratory bird refuges. (see MIGRATE case)
The controversy over Canada geese concerns whether or not they are, in fact, migratory and hence privy to federal protection. Canada geese--as their name implies--until recent years regularly migrated to northern Canada for the summer. But over the last 20- 25 years, many geese have chosen to remain south of the border, and the populations of these non-migratory geese have grown into the millions, with geese situated in eastern states from Maine down to Virginia. Aerial observations of some flocks have led to the conclusion the number of geese has doubled since 1975 and will continue to grow if present trends continue.
Why have the geese lost their biological impulse to migrate? Besides protection from game-hunters, the geese have been encouraged by the spread of suburban developments, corporate parks and recreational areas. Canada geese prefer the short-cut, manicured grass found on golf courses and on the properties of suburban corporate headquarters over the wild tundra of Canada. The shorter grasses, besides providing a plentiful source of food, afford the geese security--they can better monitor predators with the clearer views. Furthermore, the pools and ponds that normally accompany these developments are perfect sources of still drinking water. In a short time, then, the geese have learned that the environment created by humans was much closer to goose paradise than they would experience in Canada, and chose to stay.
While the complacency of these beautiful birds may be a godsend to naturalists, they have been a nightmare for farmers, recreation service providers, and tourists. Geese often invade local farms to eat corn and other grain crops, leaving farmers with substantially less for harvest. The construction of dams in the 1950's and 1960's has created more area for standing water, and irrigation ditches lead the geese straight to the fields. The geese also compete with sheep and other livestock for grazing land. In the end, farmers have to spend considerably more on fertilizer, feedstuffs and geese prevention measures.
A sector of the economy that has been particularly effected by non-migratory Canada geese is golf. Golf courses are perfect habitats for Canada geese, with plenty of rich, short grass and ponds. Course managers have to spend thousands of dollars annually to repair greens and fairways and to clean up goose dropping for the convenience of their members. Parks and recreational lakes and ponds face similar damage costs, as did the Aqueduct Racetrack in New York state, where hundreds of geese had taken up residence on the infield, refusing to leave until they had substantially ravaged the turf.
A more serious threat posed by the thriving Canada goose population is interference with ground and air travel. Goose and gosling crossings on major roads can create back-ups and fender- benders, as many drivers swerve or stop suddenly to hitting them. Canada geese have been particularly problematic for airliners, because a goose sucked into an engine can cause considerable damage and put crew and passenger lives at risk. Finally, the Canada geese's droppings pose various health and physical hazards to humans. Goose manure is very slick and can contribute to broken ankles and other serious injuries if stepped on. But it also breeds the bacterium E. Coli, which promotes flulike symptoms in humans.
The Canada geese have so adapted to their new sedentary existences, they have learned to ignore the various means employed to shoo them away. Apparently, these geese will barely ruffle a feather when shots are fired or when scarecrows and flags are displayed in their view. The frustration of the several business interests noted above has gotten to the point where the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and its state counterparts have given in and sanctioned limited hunting seasons on Canada geese. These hunts are justified as population-thinning measures on a species that has temporarily transcended its "endangered" status. Thousands of geese have been killed in these hunts, with bag limits ranging from 3 to 5 geese per day per hunter over a 10-day season.
The Department of the Interior has also sanctioned the limited sterilization of Canada goose eggs (done by shaking or puncturing the eggshell). But appeals to remove the Canada goose from the list of protected species have been denied. Persons who kill Canada geese without permission are still charged as felons; such is what happened to employees of a Williamsburg, Virginia golf course, who killed 39 geese with poisoned birdseed and were fined several thousands of dollars.
The hunts have predictably drawn criticism from bird-lovers, who believe that the costs to agriculture, recreation and other trades do not warrant such extreme measures. Thus new methods have been experimented with to simply chase the geese away from private and commercial areas. For instance, some people have invested in grape Kool-Aid powder to sprinkle on lawns; the geese have a digestive aversion methyl anthranilate, a natural compound found in grapes that causing a burning sensation in their stomachs. Border collies have also been employed to shepherd Canada geese on public spaces onto trailers for transport to wildlife refuges.
3. Related Cases:
MIGRATE Case
BIRDS Case
CRANE Case
TIMOWL Case
JPGOLF Case
ASIAGOLF Case
SWIFT Case
Key words
1. USA
2. BIRD
3. Species Loss Air
4. Draft Author: Jason B. Silberberg (May, 1996)
B. LEGAL CLUSTER
5. Discourse and Status: AGRee and COMPlete
6. Forum and Scope: United States and BILAT
7. Decision Breadth: 2 (United States and Canada)
8. Legal Standing: TREATY (Migratory Bird Treaty of 1916) also LAW (U.S. Acts of 1918 and 1929)
C. GEOGRAPHIC CLUSTER
9. Geography
Continental Domain: North America (NAMER)
Geographic Site: Eastern North America (ENAMER)
Geographic Impact: United States
10. Sub-national Factors: YES
States are permitted to enact and enforce laws and sanctions that exceed federal protection minimums, and states may open limited hunting seasons on Canada geese and can sterilize goose eggs with federal permission.
11. Habitat: TEMPERATE
D. TRADE CLUSTER
12. Type of Measure: Regulatory Standard
13. Direct vs. Indirect Impacts: INDirect
Environmental laws affect the goose population directly by protecting the entire species. But protection of Canada geese as indirectly affected agriculture and recreational services by allowing the geese to multiply to the extent that various sectors of the eastern U.S. economy incur more damages and/or costs.
14. Relation of Measure to Impact
Directly Related to Product: NO
Indirectly Related to Product: YES Geese
Not Related to Product: NO
Related to Process: YES Species Loss Air
15. Trade Product Identification: GOLF
16. Economic Data
17. Degree of Competitive Impact: LOW
The quantity of geese does pose a serious threat to air travel, but the actual probability of a Canada goose damaging a plane engine is very low. In most other cases, businesses are inconvenienced by the amount of goose droppings on their properties, but the geese themselves do not seriously impact their economic performance.
18. Industry Sector: Services
19. Exporter and Importer: Many and USA
E. ENVIRONMENTAL CLUSTER
20. Environmental Problem Type: POLL
The geese dump considerable quantities of their waste on suburban landscapes. The waste is a health risk because it promotes bone injuries through slipping, and it can be a breeding ground for E. Coli. There are possibilities for noise pollution; when a lot of geese congregate in an area, the honking can be considerable.
21. Species Information
Name: Canada Goose
Type: Animal/ Chordate/ Bird
Diversity: about 2 million in the United States
ICUN Status: Rare (debateable; populations have rebounded tremendously under strict environmental protection laws.
22. Impact and Effect: LOW and SCALE
23. Urgency and Lifetime: LOW and 10-14 years
Non-migratory Canada geese generally live longer than do their migratory counterparts, namely because they live out of range from natural predators and because they have stable sources of food and water.
24. Substitutes: CONSERVATION
F. OTHER FACTORS
25. Culture: NO
Insofar as a suburban lifestyle can be called a distinct culture, the presence of Canada geese has certainly altered that lifestyle. Also, the explosion of the geese's population has favorably affected the "culture" of naturalists who are inspired by watching the geese fly in their V formation across the sky. But beyond these very loose stretches of the term "culture," culture is not at risk.
26. Trans-boundary: YES
Fewer Canada geese are migrating to Canada because they are so pampered in the warmer United States.
27. Human Rights: NO
28. Relevant Literature
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