AR-News: (NY) Rikers Island (jail) Geese to be slaughtered

[Elizabeth Forel]

6/16/04 - NY Daily News

Letters to editor:
voicers at edit.nydailynews.com



Geese face doom to clear LaG path 

BY LISA L. COLANGELO
DAILY NEWS CITY HALL BUREAU 
The geese are cooked - unless they can escape from Rikers Island. 
A flock of 500 Canada geese living on Rikers Island is set to be
exterminated next week because the birds pose a threat to planes taking
off and landing at nearby LaGuardia Airport. 
The birds, which weigh close to 10 pounds, have flown into engines,
causing massive damage and near catastrophes, according to airport
officials. 
But animal rights activists are crying foul, saying a mass execution
would not solve the problem. 
"We are outraged that the city and Port Authority were trying to carry
out a secret plan to exterminate Canada geese without first consulting
the humane community about a nonlethal alternative," said Gary Kaskel,
president of United Action for Animals. 
"If they kill the birds this year, it's not going to prevent them from
coming back next year," he added. 
The geese most likely would be netted and euthanized by wildlife
management specialists from the United States Department of Agriculture. 
"The Port Authority's first priority is public safety," said Bill Cahill,
a PA spokesman. "Since the beginning of 2002, there have been 76 aircraft
bird strikes at LaGuardia Airport." 
At least eight of those involved Canada geese. 
Cahill said nonlethal methods have failed to scare the geese away. They
tried using pyrotechnics and even oiled eggs to prevent them from
hatching. 
But Kaskel said the city Correction Department, which runs the jails on
Rikers Island, has refused to try one simple method - letting the grass
grow. Geese, it turns out, don't like to nest in tall grass. 
"Surely, a few inches of grass is not going to be anywhere an escaped
inmate could hide," he said. 
Around the country, the federal government has allowed limited shoots to
thin out the population. Although shoots have taken place on airport
property, they will not be done on Rikers. 
"Canada geese are a very dangerous species around aircraft because of
their size and flocking behavior," said Richard Dolbeer, National
Aviation Safety Coordinator for the USDA. 
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