IDA Fighting USDA Extermination Of Canada Geese Across the Country
July 14th, 2010 | 
Author: Across the United States, Canada Geese are being exterminated, in horribly cruel ways. IDA is asking: why? Besides the inhumanity of the slaughter, past experience proves that the killings will not have the desired effect.
Brooklyn, New York residents learned this past Monday that 400 Canada Geese from Prospect Park were killed by gassing, and sent to a landfill. Last summer, 1,237 geese were killed and sent to landfill from 17 sites around Brooklyn. This year, the USDA estimates they will kill the same number. These extermination programs do not work, since more geese come to occupy the newly available territory.
The communities call in the USDA to do the dirty work because Canada Geese are migratory birds, thus supposedly protected under the Migratory Bird Act. But we’re seeing that rather than being protected by the USDA, they need to be protected FROM the USDA!
In June, Mount Laurel Township in New Jersey contracted with the USDA to round up and gas 133 Canada Geese. See our news release on this slaughter here. The act angered local residents who were adamantly opposed to lethal control measures. Not surprisingly, the government-approved and conducted slaughter also motivated some sick individuals to begin their own extermination program. On Sunday July 11, more than 30 geese and ducks near the same neighborhoods were found mutilated and dead or barely breathing. IDA president Scotlund Haisley and actress Elaine Hendrix addressed Mount Laurel officials at the township council meeting to pledge a $5,000 reward for information leading to the arrest and conviction of those responsible for this latest slaughter.
Click here to view a short IDA video about the Mount Laurel Canada Geese slaughter.
Amid a growing number of complaints from residents nationwide outraged over city officials authorizing the USDA to cull entire flocks of Canada geese from community lakes and parks, IDA is stepping up to empower animal advocates with the knowledge they need to stop such grossly inhumane and ultimately ineffectual programs. In addition to the terrible suffering and death each of these wild geese experience, the participating cities will have to continue intervening year after year to keep their parks geese-free. Instead of killing Canada geese, they can embark on a non-lethal program which would produce long term benefits and is humane.
Please stay tuned for more updates on this important issue. If you have a lake or pond in your community with geese or ducks, please contact your city official to examine their management plans. If you find they are exterminating the birds, contact IDA for advice.
Posted in Featured News, Geese, Scotlund's Blog, Wildlife | 
Tags: Baby Animals, Canada, Canada Geese, Cull, Geese, Government, Legal, Migratory Bird Act, New Jersey, Reward, Slaughter, USDA, Wildlife
30 Responses to “IDA Fighting USDA Extermination Of Canada Geese Across the Country”
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The best way I have seen to prevent mass slaughter is to organize and train volunteer groups to go out and addle eggs in advance of problems, so they never hatch, so there is never any over-population. Here is a good tutorial from the Missouri Dept. of Conservation:
http://mdc.mo.gov/landwater-care/wildlife-management/nuisance-animal-management/controlling-wild-geese/how-addle-and-o
Also working with parks to post signs prohibiting the feeding of wildlife will help keep them from becoming a nuisance. Tell everyone you know to never, ever feed wildlife. Stop taking kids to parks with loaves of bread. Bread is bad for ducks and geese. Pass it on.
Hello, I don’t think geese should be exterminated. Eugenia Renskoff
Why can’t civilization exist alongside nature? Why this drive to exterminate because of inconvenient situations?
I agree
AWESOME—TAKE CARE OF OUR GEESE! THEY SHOULD ALL LIVE UNTIL THEY DIE—NATURALLY!
Exterminating any species is a frightening thought. Each animal, bird, reptile has a role to play in our tightly closed ecosystem called EARTH. To assume that man is the most important element of that system is a misconception that must be exposed. Move the geese, accommodate them in another area. But exterminate them? No. Never.
It is so wrong what we do to all wildlife. The very fact that they were here on this earth first says everything. It is as if man feels this earth is his and it was made only for us. When in fact this is not our earth, and we do not own any species.
So stop the killings and start becoming human. We did decide to call ourselves human, but these days it seems we are the animals.
We should be better than this…DO THE RIGHT THING!
I agree with Elizabeth and all of you. This slaughter of the geese is cruel, barbaric and wrong. Our Mother Earth and the wildlife do not belong to us humans to do with as we choose (what arrogance to think this) – they belong to God, we are all a part of God and we are all connected as One. And I always protest when people want to criticize another person and they say they are behaving “like animals” as if that is wrong – no, it is we humans who are doing wrong. I heard they were killing the geese in my area – New York City – near the airports to prevent them from flying into planes taking off and causing accidents. But no I would say it is the plane that flew into the geeses’ area and caused the plane crash, not the other way round. Anyway, there must be a more compassionate way to alleviate this problem. I agree IDA should get a petition going to protest this cruelty.
If IDA would put together a cogent & effective petition addressed to the concerned powers-that-be, on the state & national levels on this tragic issue, I will most gladly sign on, & pass it on to all that I know.
SO cruel, it makes me sick. I dont understand why …………
I hand feed these beautiful, intelligent friends. Perhaps a well executed JPEG would show the admirable qualities of these majestic creatures, instead of some insensitive golfer’s ‘inconvenience’ . . . I am often surprised by our feathered friends and find them more intelligent, evolved and friendly than most humans.
They deserve greater understanding and our protection, as all sentient creatures.
Any killing of wildlife is wrong. I agree with Carole Hagen, geese should be allowed to die naturally. They killed the geese in the community where I live, because the conditions around the lake (geese poop, etc.) was unhealthy for people(so they said). There are still some geese left but not nearly as many as there was. It’s sad, very sad.
The USA is getting tight in its pants. There is less room for everyone because USA homosapians continue to reproduce at rapid rates. I was born in the 1940′s. Since that decade, the USA has increased its homosapian population about 3 1/2 times. IT IS THE HOMOSAPIANS THAT ARE DIRTYING THE EARTH, NOT THE GEESE. I implore New Jersey to halt the slaughter.
I dont understand how people can live their lives like this thinking that we are the dominant species… bull i bet if you would put a tiger and a human, both without anything added on to them, together in a room the tiger would win hands down so without weapons the human that you here about knows nothing all they have is guns, ammo, knives, and many other things but seriously its time to stop now. it has to end, there is only so many animals in this world and if we keep on killing what will we be left with, just each other. so now is the time to stop and let nature run its course without violence
It is incomprehensible to me that what we can’t fix we eliminate. These geese are living beings and deserve to live their lives. We need to learn to live in harmony with this earth and all the species that inhabit it. Stop the killing now.. please.
This horrifying trend of “exterminating” wildlife in the suburbs is a sign of our total lack of ethics and respect for other life forms. The suburbs are filled with people who lack any deeper understanding of nature and wildlife, and many are forming relationships of animosity towards geese, deer and other wildlife. WE must speak out against these gravely inhumane exterminations. Our voices need to be heard.
Being a veteran of the neighborhood Canada goose wars in South Bend, Indiana, I have advice for those experiencing this travesty. KNOW YOUR STATE LAWS. This would never happen in Indiana, because the Department of Natural Resources (DNR), jealously guarding its turf, would not allow private citizens to take over wild animal control! The geese have rights, as wild animals protected by Indiana State Game Laws. Here, you can chase the geese off your property (without hurting them), but you cannot disturb them or their nests without a permit from the DNR once they have started nesting (this allows you to shake or oil the eggs so they do not hatch). You cannot harm them. You certainly cannot kill them. One neighbor, “keeping watch over the flock by night”, so to speak, can keep the flock safe by making very clear to the neighbors that you will report any problems you notice to the DNR. A DNR “tip line” should always be called if anything seems amiss. Middle class suburban people do not like having a Conservation Officer appear at their doorstep! The DNR will EDUCATE the neighbors by meeting with them and try to address their concerns. Geese are sometimes rounded up during their flightless time in the summer and transported to game preserves. Turn your backyard into a natural area for wildlife – it serves as a safety valve in the neighborhood because the geese can always visit you! Look at the big picture. I love the geese, but I certainly accept natural control. The coyotes will move in to raid nests in the spring. We have a mink family that does the same (yes, mink!). This predation reduces the numbers.
I just wanted to know why?????? Why man are so cruel with animals???????????? Why???????????
The geese and other wild life that are in danger should be sterilized by dart injections or whatever process is best.
Why have we become the terrorists and killers of the animal world. What is wrong with us. WE have to stop killing, killing, killing. Wolves, horses, dogs cats and now the canadan geese???? What the hell. These beautiful birds should be allowed to live among us.Just use your heads and stop feeding them. Collect the eggs before they hatch so as not to bring too many to overcrowd us and enjoy. They are really wonderful creatures.
In Montclair, NJ, we have been asking for GeesePeace for YEARS,
and the government STILL WILL NOT DO IT, even tho’ volunteers
will handle it, and it’s FREE. (David Feld, founder of GeesePeace,
was invited to a meeting, he attended, and he was treated like crap
- he was also invited to Bath, England, to help with their geese,
but still not respected by the Montclair gov’t.) A campus grounds
supervisor attended GeesePeace training, but our university is a
separate entity from the town.
FYI, A few years ago, former Town Manager Joe Hartnett, with the
approval of former Mayor Ed Remsen, hired someone to kill our geese
(by electrocution, they say), in the early hours. Hartnett has retired
with a pension larger than my income and never was called to task for this cruel killing. Still no justice for these cruelly murdered animals, and
no progress in a supposedly progressive town.
Assuming this is the dear Stephanie Wood formerly of Virginia, I’d like to say it’s nice to have happened upon you here, fighting for animals, as usual. Hugs…
Por favor paren estas matanzas.¿ Por qué tenemos siempre que matar en vez de buscar otras soluciones?
There are solutions for every thing….so many…but killing isn’t one of them at all. I am so tired of reading all these horrible stories of curelty and abuse to animals…it really is sickening…Lindy
I agree. Why must we kill, kill, kill. They mate for life. They are amazing creatures. I watched the show “Migration” and it is so beautiful. Some of these geese fly 1000′s of miles to migrate away from Canada. They are so beautiful. Where is the Humane Society and other non profit organizations??
We need to stand up for them. They don’t have a voice. Also no more inhumane killing!!!
The slaughtering of geese also took place in Bergen County NJ parks. I was part of a protest against this and also attended a Freeholders meeting where we also learned they were shot to death as well as gassed. A resolution was passed to not allow such a despicable heartless act to happen again. See more: http://www.northjersey.com/news/070310_Protesters_condemn_Bergen_County_goose_gassing.html?page=all and http://www.northjersey.com/news/98003399_Freeholders_vote_to_stop_goose_gassing.html
here is mount laurel township’s website. http://www.mountlaurel.com/
Jim Keenan is the mayor. I have emailed them and complained
JimKeenan08054@gmail.com
Each new day some so-called human beings prove beyond a reasonable doubt that
they aren’t trustworthy of The Lord’s creation…
“If a group of beings from another planet were to land on Earth – beings who considered themselves as superior to you as you feel yourself to be to other animals – would you concede them the rights over you that you assume over other animals”? ~Attributed to George Bernard Shaw
“Whatever a person does to animals will be paid back to him in kind.” Pythagoras (Greek
philosopher)
Those who choose to kill such a magnificent being in such a massive way is no different than the ones who practice genocide… they are just as evil and every bit as inhumane. All birds are beautiful. All birds are necessary. All birds are a gift. Mass killing is Mass MURDER… it must stop.