ACTION ALERT
2010
http://www.kathedonovan2010.com/news/donovan-aghast-as-mcnerney-gasses-geese
Donovan Aghast as McNerney Gasses Geese
Kathleen A. Donovan,
Republican candidate for Bergen County Executive, was appalled when she learned
that the Bergen County Parks Department, under the leadership of Dennis McNerney,
has begun gassing our county geese. "What disturbs me the most is that the
County has been working with GeesePeace for over 3 years, why resort to this
barbaric practice" stated Donovan. GeesePeace is a volunteer organization
that works to control the geese population using humane methods, such as oiling
eggs to control future population.
The gassing of Canadian Geese came to light when The Animal Protection League of
New Jersey (APLNJ) issued an alert on their website. According to reports
the Bergen County Parks Department contracted with USDA to begin gassing geese
late last week. The geese, which are now molting and incapable of flight,
were herded into trucks and gassed with carbon dioxide.
Donovan urges Dennis McNerney and the County Parks Department to cease this
inhumane plan, "We understand that the geese population needs to be controlled
to ensure cleanliness of our parks and quality of life for our residents" said
Donovan, "but in this day and age there are more humane ways to accomplish this,
and I would expect the County of Bergen to embrace such methods." The
parks affected by the gassing were the
Please write the following
Dennis McNerney,
http://www.co.bergen.nj.us/bcresources/MailUs.aspx
Bergen County Parks Dept. Director Raymond Dressler: rdressler@co.bergen.nj.us
James Carroll:
jcarroll@co.bergen.nj.us
Elizabeth Calabrese:
ecalabrese@co.bergen.nj.us
David Ganz:
dganz@co.bergen.nj.us
Bernadette McPherson:
bmcpherson@co.bergen.nj.us
John Driscoll, Jr.:
jdriscoll@co.bergen.nj.us
Robert Hermansen:
RHermansen@co.bergen.nj.us
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http://www.philly.com/philly/news/local/20100622_Kevin_Riordan__What_to_do_with_the_birds_.html
Colorful, noisy, ubiquitous:
The Canada goose is a bit like a vuvuzela.
Those fiercely festive
stadium horns, whose drone has become the unofficial World Cup soundtrack,
inspire a mix of love and hate.
So, too, do the 20-pound,
year-round birds who grace and deface the landscaped greens that are their
pastures. Just ask the patrons of
"The geese are a nuisance,"
says township resident Tracey Charles, who walks the park several times a week
with her infant daughter, Grace.
"They're everywhere, and
their droppings are gross," adds Charles, a paralegal. "But I don't know how you
humanely kill them."
Depends on how one defines
humane. U.S. Department of Agriculture guidelines allow for all manner of
management techniques, up to and including what they refer to as "euthanasia."
Advocates for the Laurel
Acres geese say this could include having the birds professionally rounded up,
put in a chamber on a truck, and gassed. They've lobbied against lethal
techniques for weeks, and planned to attend a township council session scheduled
for last night.
"It's not like we're saying
don't do anything. We're saying, use humane methods," says
Wilson and others suggest
egg-addling (essentially scrambling the egg in its shell), strategic landscaping
(geese like a water view), and deploying Border Collies (the birds don't find
them nearly as adorable as we do).
"There's no need to kill the
geese. There's a better way and it's been proven," says Sharon Pawlak of
Marlton, (should read "
"Look, no one wants to step
in the droppings," says Pawlak, who admires the Canada goose for its
intelligence and family values. As for public concern that the birds could carry
diseases that endanger humans, she adds, "You're more likely to get sick from a
dog or a cat."
Wilson and Pawlak say the
township rarely enforces its no-feeding
regulations at Laurel Acres. They also insist it has only sporadically tried to
control the geese population through nonlethal means.
Last week I reached out to
Township Manager Jennifer Blumenthal, evidently
I hadn't heard from her by
deadline. But I empathize with anyone trying to navigate this tricky issue -
especially at a time when, given what's happening to wildlife in the
The good news: That's not
the case, not yet, at Laurel Acres.
On a recent hot afternoon, a
single goose floated in the park's picturesque pond, but droppings and feathers
were abundant. People were all over the place.
"I think they're more of an
attraction than a deterrent," said John Fitzpatrick, who lives in Marlton.
"It's their domain. We're
the intruders," said Lynn Martorano, also of Marlton.
Thelma Gibson, visiting from
Please write the following
Jim Keenan, Mayor:
jimKeenan08054@gmail.com
Peter McCaffrey, Deputy Mayor:
CouncilmanMcCaffrey@mountlaurel.com
Council Members:
Tracy Riley:
CouncilRiley@aol.com
Linda Bobo:
bobo.mountlaurel@gmail.com
Chris Smith:
Chrissmith.mtl@gmail.com
Township Manager, Jennifer Blumenthal:
manager@mountlaurel.com