Officials Euthanize Nearly 400 Geese From Prospect Park

steveo wrote: I'm late to this thread, but these animals were not "euthanized".

Euthanasia is ending a life to prevent further suffering. These geese were not suffering.

Now Tupper is on board with this term.

Just because it rhymes with "euphemize" doesn't mean it it's the appropriate word.

Quite an unfortunate thing to happen in her final year.

Peaceful vigil in the park tomorrow, July 17th, at 6:30 p.m., by the lake on Prospect Park's southwest side near Vanderbilt Playground and the gazebo.

Laura B wrote: Look how well things like DDT and the war in Iraq have worked out :roll:

Actually, for all of DDT's problems, it did enable us to eradicate endemic malaria in the U.S.
To keep things in perspective, over the course of human history, more people have died from malaria than from any other cause.

Robert Gwadz of the National Institutes of Health said in 2007, "The ban on DDT may have killed 20 million children."

@Carnivore: Oy, so now we've gotta debate DDT? I flunked chemistry, so let's go to the Wikipedians, shall we?

1. The "20 million children" figure has apparently been discredited as wildly inaccurate, irresponsible and the product of pro-DDT lobbyists.

2. DDT played a minor role in the final elimination of malaria in Europe and North America.By the time it was introduced in the U.S., the disease had already been brought under control by a variety of other means. One CDC physician involved in the United States' DDT spraying campaign said of the effort that "we kicked a dying dog."

3. The World Health Org was initially highly successful at eliminating the disease in Asia with DDT. However widespread agricultural use led to resistant insect populations. In many areas, early victories partially or completely reversed, and in some cases rates of transmission even increased.

But that's as far OT as I go. I know you're an MD so ultimately I will likely lose any scientific arm wrestling with you! Can we go back to geese now?

KLGA = Laguardia


http://wildlife-mitigation.tc.faa.gov/wildlife/default.aspx


39 Laguardia/Goose Hits since 1990



FAA Wildlife Strike Database


4/7/1990NYLAGUARDIA NYUS AIRWAYSB-737-400DCANADA GOOSES
1/6/1991NYLAGUARDIA NYUS AIRWAYSDC-9-30DCANADA GOOSEM
1/20/1993NYLAGUARDIA NYUNITED AIRLINESB-737-300DCANADA GOOSES
12/26/1993NYLAGUARDIA NYNORTHWEST AIRLINESB-757-200DCANADA GOOSES
10/5/1994NYLAGUARDIA NYUS AIRWAYSB-737-300DCANADA GOOSEM
3/22/1995NYLAGUARDIA NYAMERICAN AIRLINESMD-80DCANADA GOOSEN
5/21/1995NYLAGUARDIA NYDELTA AIR LINESB-727-200DCANADA GOOSEM
8/13/1995NYLAGUARDIA NYDELTA AIR LINESB-757-200DCANADA GOOSEM
9/19/1995NYLAGUARDIA NYNORTHWEST AIRLINESA-320DCANADA GOOSES
9/21/1995NYLAGUARDIA NYNORTHWEST AIRLINESA-320DCANADA GOOSES
4/1/1996NYLAGUARDIA NYBUSINESS EXPRESSSAAB-340CCANADA GOOSEN
3/30/1997NYLAGUARDIA NYAMERICAN AIRLINESMD-80DCANADA GOOSE
1/27/1998NYLAGUARDIA NYTRANS WORLD AIRLINESMD-80DCANADA GOOSEN
4/4/1998NYLAGUARDIA NYAMERICAN AIRLINESMD-82DCANADA GOOSES
4/15/1998NYLAGUARDIA NYBUSINESS EXPRESSSAAB-340CCANADA GOOSEN
5/16/1998NYLAGUARDIA NYCONTINENTAL AIRLINESB-737-300DCANADA GOOSES
6/8/1998NYLAGUARDIA NYAIR CANADAA-320DCANADA GOOSEM?
1/21/1999NYLAGUARDIA NYAMERICAN AIRLINESMD-80DCANADA GOOSE
3/14/1999NYLAGUARDIA NYUS AIRWAYSFK-100DGEESEN
10/19/1999NYLAGUARDIA NYNORTHWEST AIRLINESA-320DCANADA GOOSEM
9/8/2000NYLAGUARDIA NYAMERICAN AIRLINESMD-82DCANADA GOOSE
7/17/2002NYLAGUARDIA NYCOMAIR AIRLINESCL-RJ100/200DCANADA GOOSE
8/17/2002NYLAGUARDIA NYEXPRESSJET (CONTINENTAL EXPRS)EMB-145DCANADA GOOSEM?
2/20/2003NYLAGUARDIA NYUS AIRWAYSCL-RJ100/200DCANADA GOOSEN
8/4/2003NYLAGUARDIA NYUS AIRWAYSA-319DCANADA GOOSEN
9/4/2003NYLAGUARDIA NYAMERICAN AIRLINESFK-100DCANADA GOOSES
9/10/2003NYLAGUARDIA NYAMERICAN AIRLINESMD-80DCANADA GOOSEN
10/24/2003NYLAGUARDIA NYUNITED AIRLINESB-757-200DCANADA GOOSEN
12/2/2003NYLAGUARDIA NYCONTINENTAL AIRLINESB-737-500DSNOW GOOSEM
1/6/2004NYLAGUARDIA NYSPIRIT AIRLINESMD-88DGEESEM?
5/19/2004NYLAGUARDIA NYDELTA AIR LINESB-737-300DCANADA GOOSEN
8/20/2004NYLAGUARDIA NYAMERICAN EAGLE AIRLINESEMB-135DCANADA GOOSEN
9/6/2004NYLAGUARDIA NYUS AIRWAYSA-319DCANADA GOOSEM
12/12/2005NYLAGUARDIA NYCHAUTAUQUA AIRLINESEMB-145DSNOW GOOSES
4/11/2006NYLAGUARDIA NYUNKNOWNUNKNOWN CANADA GOOSE
10/17/2008NYLAGUARDIA NYUNKNOWNUNKNOWN BRANT
1/15/2009NYLAGUARDIA NYUS AIRWAYSA-320DCANADA GOOSED
10/19/2009NYLAGUARDIA NYAMERICAN AIRLINESMD-83DCANADA GOOSEN
12/16/2009NYLAGUARDIA NYUNKNOWNUNKNOWN SNOW GOOSE

smw380 wrote: that FAA testimony is interesting - doesn't say anything about a 7 mile airport radius. i've been trying to find out who decided to increase the radius and why, but no luck so far.

http://home2.nyc.gov/html/dep/html/press_releases/10-62pr.shtml

I've seen that, but it doesn't explain why. Are bird strikes up? I don't think so.

Laura B wrote: @inpixels: Thanks for the links. I get it that bird strikes happen. But my question was--and perhaps I'm missing something--Where is the empirical evidence that killing hundreds of geese for miles around reduces the chance of the strikes happening?

Sure killing them will reduce strikes. But killing is not the answer. It's absurd.

The question should be isn't there a better way?

Like shooting sounds out of the plane (LRADs?) to keep the birds away.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Long_Range_Acoustic_Device

Laura B wrote: @Carnivore: Oy, so now we've gotta debate DDT? I flunked chemistry, so let's go to the Wikipedians, shall we?

1. The "20 million children" figure has apparently been discredited as wildly inaccurate, irresponsible and the product of pro-DDT lobbyists.

2. DDT played a minor role in the final elimination of malaria in Europe and North America.By the time it was introduced in the U.S., the disease had already been brought under control by a variety of other means. One CDC physician involved in the United States' DDT spraying campaign said of the effort that "we kicked a dying dog."

3. The World Health Org was initially highly successful at eliminating the disease in Asia with DDT. However widespread agricultural use led to resistant insect populations. In many areas, early victories partially or completely reversed, and in some cases rates of transmission even increased.

But that's as far OT as I go. I know you're an MD so ultimately I will likely lose any scientific arm wrestling with you! Can we go back to geese now?

The 20 million children may be an exaggeration, but the underlying point is still true. And it's true that DDT is most effective as part of an integrated strategy including treatment, prophylaxis, swamp drainage, etc. I also agree that use of DDT for agriculture is an abuse. However, my point remains that to characterize DDT as an example of some type of government conspiracy is to slander one of the great public health successes of the modern age.

smw380 wrote: 39 strikes in 20 years with 0 fatalities? idg how that leads to slaughtering hundreds, if not thousands, of animals.

How did "nearly 400" become "thousands"? If not for the awesomeness of Captain Sully, there would likely have been 155 casualties. 400 geese seems a reasonable cost to prevent a loss of that order of magnitude.

Toward a Polemic on Urban Wildlife (Inspired by the Geese of Prospect Park)
http://outwalkingthedog.wordpress.com/2010/07/15/towards-a-polemic-on-urban-wildlife-inspired-by-prospect-parks-canada-geese/

eastbloc wrote: In other words, he was just showing off.

I'm sure that was what was going through his mind after he lost all propulsion and was making a split-second judgment about how to get his plane and passengers to safety. :roll:

Subject: WHose Pond is it?

So here is my question......who owns the pond? The geese who invaded and overpopulated or the native wild birds of the area? I don't think gassing 400 geese was humane but I am not sure I think crying over them is the answer either. Is the parks department offering any ways the community can help out with population control? And I know some vegans think population control is cruel too (basically you shake the egg).....but y'know many of us take birth control pills and many people choose the morning after pill and if it works for people, well....it can work for a rapidly breeding bird that doesn't belong in this niche all year.

It is frankly like the stray cats in my neighborhood. I love cats and I am glad they are not breeding but they are also killing all the local birds. Whose environment is it? The cats that got dumped on the street by idiotic owners or the birds whose native environment it has been for thousands of years that are now getting caught and eaten? I like cats too much to personally kill them but I really see it is totally wrong that they have taken over at the expense of the song birds.

Subject: Re: Canada geese in Brooklyn & Manhattan

Out walking the dog wrote: Interesting information here on a hot issue. Up in my neck of the woods (Upper West Side, Morningside Heights & Harlem), people are worried about the sudden disappearance of a tiny much-loved flock of geese from Morningside Park. I'll be interviewing a biologist from the USDA next week, and will post what I learn about Brooklyn & Manhattan on www.outwalkingthedog.wordpress.com where there's already an interesting discussion going on.

Yes we are familiar with your blog and thanks for checking in.
This may be a question for the FAA... but can you ask why don't they equip planes with Hypersonic and/or Long Range Accoustic devices that would scare away the birds (and also not be heard by residents of the area http://blogs.wsj.com/metropolis/2010/05/27/mta-pigeon-alarm-terrorizes-more-than-just-birds/ ) rather than killing the birds?

Just scare them away.

http://www.birdxcanada.com/sonic/super_bird_xpeller_pro.html


Have you checked out the FAA Wildlife Strike Database?