AR-News: Please contact ny Senators Schumer and Clinton to save 500 canada geese from extermination on friday

[PeterMuller]

E M E R G  E N C Y   A L E R T :  (PLEASE CROSS-POST) 

PLEASE CONTACT NY SENATORS SCHUMER AND CLINTON 
TO SAVE 500 CANADA GEESE FROM EXTERMINATION ON FRIDAY

The USDA's NY State wildlife director Rich Chipman seems to be the sole
person making the recommendation to the Port Authority of NY/NJ (the
operators of LaGuardia Airport) to kill 500 Canada geese on nearby Rikers
Island. Twice over the course of a year Chipman was given another nonlethal
solution from outside his agency and he rejected it.  

The nonprofit group, GeesePeace, which was formed by a grant from Senator
Charles Schumer to humanely address goose abatement in NY State, has
proposed an immediate nonlethal program that would actually provide a
long-term solution.  Chipman admits the act of exterminating this year's
crop of geese by his unit (who charges the state taxpayers $15,000 for the
job) will not stop the geese from returning next season.  GeesePeace's
solution addresses the entire area's goose population humanely and
methodically.

The judgment of one bureaucrat at the USDA is the issue here, as it appears
that Chipman's demand to kill all the birds this year is a missed
opportunity to create a long-term solution to this problem immediately. This
comes after his department at the USDA failed at abating the problem for
several years in a row.

The threat of bird strikes at LaGuardia airport is a real one.  However,
Port Authority records do not show any more of a threat this year than for
the past decade, where the goose strikes into airplanes have averaged 1.7
per year despite fluctuating goose populations. 

United Action for Animals, the ASPCA and the Fund for Animals attended a
meeting yesterday with Port Authority, USDA, the City, and GeesePeace to
address their concerns about USDA's plan.  After GeesePeace made a
compelling presentation explaining why the USDA's plan was not only inhumane
but merely a band-aid fix to the problem and USDA's Chipman rejected their
offer to work with USDA to abate the goose population near the airport, all
three humane groups condemned USDA's plan as inhumane and unnecessary.

Since USDA is a Federal agency, we now ask citizens to contact the NY
Federal representatives and demand they intervene to stop this senseless
killing.  You must call, fax and email NOW, as the klll is scheduled for
Friday.

Sen. Chuck Schumer
757 Third Avenue, Suite 17-02, NY, NY 10017
Phone:  (212) 486-4430
Fax: (212) 486-7693
Web email:  http://schumer.senate.gov/webform.html

Sen. Hillary Clinton
780 Third Avenue Suite 2601 NY, NY 10017  
Phone: (212) 688-6262
Fax: (212) 688-7444
Web email:  http://clinton.senate.gov/email_form.html

Congressman Charles Rangel (15th Dist.) 
163 W. 125th Street #737
New York, NY 10027
Phone: (212) 663-3900
Fax:  (212) 663-4277
Email:  rangel at mail.house.gov

------------------------------------------------------------
THANK YOU!

United Action for Animals, Inc.
P.O. Box 635 - Lenox Hill Station
New York, NY 10021
Tel 212-249-9178
Fax 212-249-2973
http://www.ua4a.org



 

 

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