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No Safe Spots In City For Canada Geese
By
Jen Carlson
Published Oct 4, 2010
Modified Oct 4, 2010
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By
Jen Carlson
Published Oct 4, 2010
Modified Oct 4, 2010
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Say goodbye to the geese. According to the Brooklyn Paper, feds have now revealed their seven-mile “kill zones” around JFK and LaGuardia airports. The map (pictured above) is used by the Department of Agriculture when plotting their attacks on the winged terrors, and it pretty much covers the entire city, including half of Brooklyn, all of Manhattan (aside from the Battery), and most of the Bronx and Queens.
Federal Wildlife Services spokeswoman Carol Bannerman didn't specify how many geese would be sent to the gas chamber during the next killing spree, but allegedly the plan isn't to wipe the city clean of them; she said the goal "is to manage resident Canada goose populations to achieve an optimal balance between the positive values and conflicts associated with these birds. Near airports, this would mean fewer wildlife hazards and risks.”
Their management plan has been widely criticized, however. After killing hundreds of geese in Prospect Park this summer (an area that isn't even on the aforementioned map!), the population is practically back to where it was already. Patrick Kwan of the Humane Society of the U.S. told the paper, “The goal of eliminating geese in seven miles, it’s just not possible. We know that wildlife eradication programs don’t work.”
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Jen Carlson
Jen Carlson is a former WNYC and Gothamist editor.
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Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
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