Save the Geese of Inwood Hill Park

  • by: Save The Geese of Inwood Hill Park
  • recipient: Patty Harris, Deputy Mayor of NY; Councilman Robert Jackson; John C. Liu, NYC Comptroller; Jennifer Hoppa, Administrator for Northern Manhattan Parks; Elizabeth Lorris-Ritter, Constituent Liaison for Adriano Espaillat
On 6/28/11, agents of the U.S. Department of Agriculture at the direction of Mayor Bloomberg descended upon Inwood Hill Park, a designated wildlife sanctuary, to capture and kill all of the geese residing there.  The reason stated for the slaughter was to protect airports from potential bird strikes which allegedly contributed to the downing of the plane in the Hudson three years ago.  It was also stated, perhaps in an attempt to placate protestors, that the carcasses would be donated to a food bank in PA to feed the needy.  This event was part of an ongoing city-wide campaign to exterminate Canada geese, which have been designated by Mayor Bloomberg as a "nuisance species."

The problem (according to Mayor Bloomberg):  Canada geese.
The solution:  slaughter them.

FACT:  Less than 1% (.06%) of aviation problems at NY airports are caused by bird strikes.

FACT:  The geese of Inwood Hill Park remain in the park, well outside the seven-mile airport radius "kill zone" for Canada geese designated by the Mayor.  They pose no threat to airport safety.  It is migratory geese, not the locals, that are implicated in potential bird strikes.

FACT:  Almost $140,000 of taxpayer money ($91,070 this year, $45,535 last year) has been spent by the City on contracts with the USDA to capture and kill urban geese, money that could have certainly been put to better use.  The City is laying off teachers due to budget cuts, but is quick to spend $140,000 to kill geese.  Does this make sense?

FACT:  There are cost effective, humane methods available to clear airports of migratory geese.  See The Humane Society website for more information on this.

FACT:  Any wild geese captured from Inwood Hill Park would certainly be unfit for human consumption due to the toxicity of environmental pollutants undoubtedly present in the carcasses.  Furthermore, the USDA has refused to identify the name or location of any purported food bank receiving said carcasses, casting further doubt on the credulity of their stated intention to "feed to the needy" the slaughtered Canada geese.  That assertion is preposterous on its face.

We the people of Inwood Hill Park love our geese.  We cherish this park and all of its wildlife.  These creatures are a part of our lives, especially those of us with small children.  What do we tell our children now when they ask us what happened to the baby geese?  What kind of message does it send when we have to inform them that these precious creatures were slaughtered because someone thought of them as a nuisance?  What does this say about who we are?

Do not let this happen in Inwood Hill Park again.  Please protect our wildlife by blocking the funding for this slaughter campaign and by exploring humane alternatives for controlling the Canada geese population around the airports.  The world is facing an immense environmental crisis in which species are becoming extinct on a daily basis.  Please let us not add to the degradation of the Web of Life by actively engaging in the senseless slaughter of our wildlife.

For more information and how to get involved, please check out our Facebook page "Save the Geese of Inwood Hill Park" at SaveOurGeese@facebook.groups.com, or contact us at SaveOurGeese@yahoo.com.

Photo attributed to Sonja Lashua Fagan.
www.sonjalashuaphotos.com
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