Thinking of Canada Geese this Mother’s Day
Image by NoName_13 from Pixabay
The information below was sent to us by the Animal Alliance of Canada. As they say: “Goose mothers and their chicks deserve better” than the Vancouver Parks Board decision to cull geese.
| Goose mothers and their chicks deserve better. Vancouver Parks Board Decision “Fear-Mongering” The Animal Alliance of Canada is calling out the Vancouver Parks Board after its decision to include a cull of Canada geese as part of its strategy for managing the local goose population. We believe the claim of the potential for the goose population to reach 10,000 individuals by 2030, from the current estimate of 2,200 is fear-mongering. Population size reflects availability of resources needed by the birds and can be reduced effectively and economically using non-lethal measures. We condemn the Parks Board decision. What we have is a city with 650,000 people and the Parks Board is vilifying about 2,000 geese for pooping on the grass. It is because of our behaviour that the geese are here, and responsible wildlife cohabitation doesn’t involve killing. Similar lethal policy across B.C. in Parksville, the Okanagan, and in Victoria also failed to address the underlying issues of what attracts geese to these regions. Manicured fields, open beaches, and feeding of wildlife all contribute to making an ideal environment for geese, none of which are addressed by killing. The Parks Board needs to realize that other geese will take their place if you kill members of this group because nothing about the habitat has fundamentally changed. We will be asking Vancouver City Council to reject the funding request from the Parks Board unless it removes culling from its plan. Instead, we will be encouraging the Park Board and Council to adopt a co-habitation model of habitat modification along with better enforcement of feeding bylaws and egg-addling as a solution. Geese generally mate with one partner for life and mourn the loss if their partner is killed. To move ahead with a cull, the Park Board will have to justify the reasoning for a cull to the Canadian Wildlife Service. The Parks Board could not say how the geese would be killed in their proposal. In 2016, the city of Parksville hired a contractor who killed 484 geese, when they were moulting and could not fly, by rounding them up in a tennis court and shooting them in the head with bolt guns. This is not a method approved by the Canadian Wildlife Service. We can and should do better for our communities. If geese are under fire in your municipality and you need help, please call or write to us. Sincerely, Jordan Reichert West Coast Campaigner — E/ jordan@animalalliance.ca T/ 416-462-9541 W/ AnimalAlliance.ca Yes! Jordan, I’ll donate today to help you protect Canada’s iconic geese. |
