Officials Euthanize Nearly 400 Geese From Prospect Park

http://cityroom.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/07/12/officials-euthanize-nearly-400-geese-from-prospect-park/?hp

July 12, 2010, 3:29 PM
Officials Euthanize Nearly 400 Geese From Prospect Park
By ISOLDE RAFTERY

Nearly 400 Canada geese and goslings that had been living at Prospect Park were captured and euthanized last week as part of an ongoing citywide effort to reduce the goose population in the New York City region.

Early on Thursday morning, wildlife biologists and technicians descended on the park and netted the birds. The biologists, who work with the wildlife services division of the United States Department of Agriculture, then packed the geese two or three to a crate and took them to a facility where they were gassed with lethal doses of carbon dioxide, said Carol A. Bannerman, a spokeswoman for the wildlife services division.

The wildlife specialists had taken advantage of the fact that the birds were in the middle of molting season, when they shed their feathers and are unable to fly. On Monday morning, only four geese were seen out on the lake in Prospect Park, according to one nearby resident, and it was not clear if they had avoided the roundup or arrived in the days since it occurred.

Last summer, 1,200 geese from 17 sites around the city were euthanized. The authorities have been trying to thin out their ranks since two geese flew into the engines of US Airways Flight 1549 in January, 2009, causing it to splash down in the Hudson River. Everyone on board survived.

The absence of the birds was noticed by park enthusiasts and landscapers, though officials at Prospect Park were not notified of their removal. Two of the park’s birds gained some notoriety because of their disabilities – one was missing the top part of its beak, and another had a crossbow speared through its neck.

The Prospect Park geese were not the only ones removed in the last month. The goal is to remove all geese within seven miles of La Guardia and John F. Kennedy airports.