New York Daily News -
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Kill the geese, feed the needy?
BY LISA L. COLANGELO
DAILY NEWS CITY HALL BUREAU
Friday, June 23rd, 2006
These geese could be cooked.
Federal wildlife experts netted and gassed 165 of the birds on Rikers Island yesterday. The Canada Geese - which could end up as food for the needy - are considered a hazard for planes flying in and out of LaGuardia Airport.
U.S. Department of Agriculture officials will come back to the island next week to see if any birds dare to return - and kill more if necessary.
The birds will be frozen and tested to see if they are safe for donation to food pantries, officials said.
So far this year, 32 planes have struck geese at LaGuardia, Port Authority officials said yesterday.
But animal advocates are honking mad that the Port Authority, which operates the airport, and the city's Correction Department, which runs the Rikers Island jails, haven't worked harder to find a nonlethal method of controlling the geese, which nest on the island in June.
"The humane community is really making an ultimatum," said Gary Kaskel of United Action for Animals. "If they don't look for a permanent fix, we'll use the courts."
Although the number of geese killed has dropped every year since the first roundup in 2004, when more than 400 were permanently grounded, Kaskel said the killing is a bird-brained idea.
He said "landscape modification" that would make the grassy area unfriendly to the birds is the "best thing for the birds and the flying public."
"We have a very complex environment out there," said Richard Chipman, New York State director of USDA Wildlife Services.
"Our foremost issue is to make sure the jails are still safe," he added, referring to altering the landscape.
Last year's birds were to be sent to food pantries but have sat in a freezer after some of the geese tested showed low levels of cadmium, a heavy metal.
Chipman said most of the cadmium showed up in the birds' organs and not the breast meat that would be sent to the pantries. He said testing will continue this year on the newer crop of geese to see if they can be eaten.
Chipman said that a committee of city and state officials and animal welfare advocates will look at landscape options over the next year to try to end the flap.
With Robert F. Moore
