The Town of Mamaroneck confirms the USDA euthanized a number of Canada Geese on and around the Duck Pond in Larchmont Gardens early Wednesday morning.
“Private residents of the Larchmont Gardens neighborhood contracted with the USDA to remove the geese,” said a spokesperson for the Town. “It is a private contract, the Town just allowed them on Town property.”
Wildlife agents were out in kayaks rounding up the animals in the wee hours and loading them into trucks, according to officials.
In May, the Larchmont Gardens Civic Association group met with USDA APHIS Wildlife Services representative Tyler DeLisle, according to the Larchmont Gardens website, about concerns it had about the geese.
Many communities in the U.S. eradicate or relocate the animals because of their waste, and their consumption of some grasses and plants.
Attempts to reach members of the board of the association were unsuccessful.
“This isn’t the way to go. If they want them to go away they should pick them up and take them somewhere else, we do not believe that they should euthanize them,” said Doug Bloom, Vice-President of Bronx River Sound Shore Audubon Society, which includes this area. Doug Bloom lives in Larchmont Gardens.
Reaction was swift on social media. TheLoop Facebook page received comments from people on both sides.
“Inappropriate and just wrong,” posted one resident. “So many humane ways they could handle the situation. Shame on them.”
“’ll be there at 5 a.m. looking to help….I hate geese,” wrote another.
New York State has a policy of not relocating wildlife, only private companies can do that.
Q and A Sheet on goose removal from USDA
Update: a citizen says she spoke with Tyler DeLisle of the USDA, who said that a private group of residents contracted them to remove the geese due to “damage management” — i.e. droppings on the property, water contamination, molting, e. coli, etc. Apparently the residents have tried other methods and have not been able to keep the geese away.
I think that was so cruel!! They could have done something more humane! Like given them something so they couldn’t reproduce. Those geese were there for so many years . I remember I went there as a child under 5 years old and brought my daughter there and grandkids there to walk and see the geese And I’m 72 years old. You should be ashamed at what you did!! I will not be visiting there ever again . And you did it sneaky!!
Did you have turkey for Thanksgiving? There are too many geese and not enough predators.
How dare you newbies come into our Lovely Larchmont Gardens which includes the duck pond and all its splendor and remove our geese. The duck pond has always been duck and geese territory. So now you people move here and have them killed? Heartless and deplorable actions. I think you all should be sued!!!!
As someone who works with communities to help them find humane management methods to lower and limit Canada Goose populations, I can tell you that there are a number of things that can be done and are successful. It is critical to use several modalities – about 3 or 4 – in combination for the best results. In almost every case where humane efforts were unsuccessful in limiting the problem, it is because only ONE method is used and not done correctly or done long enough. Landscape modification, egg oiling, lasers, site aversion, dogs – there is a plethora of modalities that can be cobbled together for an effective program. There is a hybrid grass called FlightTurf that deters geese (and deer and Lyme disease, and doesn’t even need mowing) because they don’t like the taste and don’t stay where it is planted. Often, once established, much of this can be done by volunteers, making this less costly than the kill contracts that in reality solve nothing. Once the geese are killed, within a month, new ones will fly in to take their place and numbers will be right back up. It is a lesson in futility.
It is important to realize that the USDA and its Wildlife Services division makes literally BILLIONS of dollars annually all over the country killing geese. Their goal is to get that kill contract year after year. Most communities have no idea who else to reach out to and the USDA specifically seeks these communities out to get to them first. A lot of false vilification, scare tactics and hate is promoted by these agencies to terrorize people into wanting the geese killed. This is a manageable situation that is being manipulated for one reason and one reason only – MONEY.
Geese are the most family bonded of waterfowl and roundups, with the separation of mates and babies, are particularly brutal for them. Because they fly at high altitudes and also dabble for extended periods underwater, they are adapted to hold their breath for long periods of time; therefore, gassing is exceptionally cruel. This form of killing was NEVER intended for waterfowl.
As for health problems, check hospital records and see how many people were ever hospitalized for illnesses from geese – NONE. The droppings (only about a pound from an adult goose) are relatively benign, as geese are not scavengers; they eat grass. It’s actually the best fertilizer there is. A handy mechanic could rig up a goose pooper scooper to any lawn mower with a little ingenuity. In lake areas, DNA water testing can determine the real cause of water problems – it’s NOT going to be geese. Likely culprit is septic tanks.
The ruse of feeding the goose carcasses to the poor is BS and just used to make people feel better about the killing – in truth, they are thrown in landfills because the cost to test for toxins from possible grass pesticide is about $12 per bird. Few food pantries will take geese for that reason. There is no shortage of food to feed the poor and while helping the needy is a worthwhile endeavor, we do not need to kill our friendly wildlife to do it.
I highly recommend community leaders with goose issues contact GeesePeace – David Feld, the National Program Director, is the preeminent expert on how to deal humanely and effectively with this situation. He will come out and assess and recommend but only if community leadership contact him, as only then is he sure that they are serious about following his program, which is HIGHLY successful. He can be reached at his direct cell: 703 608 2274.
Geese have wings. They don’t relocate very well.
Essentially, to have a vibrant ecosystem, the top predator has to do its job. Life is messy. Deer and geese are nice to look at until they become too numerous, and then they are too numerous and you have biological issues. And every place that could support animals is already filled with animals.
Everyone needs to stop calling it “euthanized” implying that they were in some way suffering and it was an act of mercy …they were rounded up and KILLED.
The problem is not Geese, its Humans. The have been migrating and calling these places home for thousands of years!! Now it’s “your” neighborhood ant they are the intruders …right.
And how much “poop” and household garbage do you litter this planet with every day?
Agreed. Similar situation with the coyotes. Can’t euthanize everything. We need to learn how to live together, with animals and nature alike. WWJD
REMINDER:
Comments containing personal attacks are deleted. We do not work hard to break news in this community to air haters’ withering and anonymous attacks against each other.
Polly Kreisman
Editor
Video of goose roundup 6/26/19 submitted by reader.
https://youtu.be/CvoKF5YWCOc
Ok everyone,
My wife and I live in Maryland, and recently relocated here from the Midwest. We are nature lovers, and purchased a beautiful 4 acre estate with a shared 4 acre neighborhood pond. We are the only home whose property is on the waterfront. We have never seen so much wildlife, we have a beaver in the pond, bald eagle nest in the neighborhood, fox and deer on the property, and it is very serene. What ruins it all is that we can’t walk outside our house on any of our acres of land in bare feet, due to the migratory geese and resident geese. An adult goose excretes 2-3 pounds of filth per day, and in the winter we have between 350-400 geese on our pond on any given day. In the Summer, the number drops to about 75. An acre of water can safely support habitat for roughly 6-8 geese, so at any given time there are 2.5 to 10 times the geese that can be supported by the habitat. What happens in the winter is that all our acres are eaten down to the dirt, and the 1,000 pounds a day of goose excrement mixes into both our yard, and our pond, creating a disgusting cocktail of sludge.
We didn’t know any of this when we moved in, and we are working on solutions to this situation. While I do hunt, it is illegal to hunt geese in MD outside the season. I already spent $7,000 to plant a line of shrubs on the 500 foot beach we own, as a barrier to them walking out of the water and onto our lawn. Now, they dont walk out onto our yard, they walk out somewhere else, come down our driveway excreeting the whole way, and eat our property. We don’t want to get a dog, but we may have to. We are also thinking of putting a fountain in the pond so that it dissuades them from landing. They have already poisoned our well water with bacteria once, there just isnt enough land surrounding our well to filter out all the bacteria. We are tired of having to wash off a hundred pounds of goose poop from our 600 foot driveway every other day.
We are at our wits end, how do we coexist with an over population of geese on our property. Its demoralizing, disgusting and infuriating. We love nature, but until you have lived in this situation, you cant appreciate how dire the situation makes you feel.
What the heck has that got to do with us, Maryland man? This is a local website for local people. Go eat a crab.
My point, sir is that this is not just your problem, its a National problem. If we share in the dialogue regionally, we may share in the solution locally. Open your mind.
I find it extremely hard to believe that you had no idea that the property you bought had a large number of geese!! Where were they all hiding?
Sad that they are a problem but this generation with the quick fix, no matter what the result is for others, is not morally acceptable!!
If we have neighbors or other individuals that are in our space or an annoyance, shall we use the quick fix on them as well? Thou shall not kill. Pain and simple.
Please continue to try safe, natural methods to encourage your original property owners to move on.
Kristy,
Unfortunately, we purchased the property in September, when the migratory geese were back North. We viewed the property all three times after making advance appointments, and apparently they hired a border collie service so scare the resident geese away during showings. From talking with neighbors, the geese weren’t the original residents, they showed up to stay once the first owners of our estate started feeding them, now they and all their progeny come back. Its a big nuisance that I inherited. This Summer, three mated pairs created 30 chicks that are mostly grown. The eagles and foxes are only preying on our lesser scaups (diving ducks), not on the geese.
The problem is not Geese, its Humans. The have been migrating and calling these places home for thousands of years!! Now it’s “your” property and “your”neighborhood ant they are the intruders …right.
And how much “poop” and household garbage do you litter this planet with every day?
You don’t love nature, you love managed pieces of nature that fit neatly into your lifestyle.
That’s an interesting comment, Lisa. Agreed that we are humans that need to coexist with our environment. When you think about it, I bet you too love managed pieces of nature that fit neatly into your human lifestyle. If you are willing to drink and bathe in green water, because your well has been fouled by goose poop and bacteria, then you might appreciate my point because that happened to me. I bet you prefer clean water like I do.
I can empathize with your situation, but what we’re talking about here is around 20 geese in total, who occupy a pond on town property, with a busy public road acting as a divider between about six houses. All of these home owners would have certainly been aware that geese have been residing at this pond for decades, if not a century. The removal of the geese was done without any public forum for debate under a veil of secrecy. This, in a town where you need board approval to do just about anything, and are required to notify all neighbors within a huge radius about any intentions to do so.
It is a sad state of affairs when a few people get to dictate an outcome over the opinion of the majority.
My advice to you is to get that dog and solve your own problem.
There are several kinds of sheep dogs who consider it their duty to chase geese away.
Canada geese are far from being on the brink of extinction.
Tell me, do they think other geese will not settle there? Are they going to “cull” them all? What about the robins that poop on their cars? Maybe they need to be “culled” also?
Crows too
WTAF? Do these people not understand that other species also have the right to live??? And why couldn’t they just relocate them instead of killing them???