Monday, June 24, 2013

First, They Came for the Geese.....

Goose Family at Inwood Hills Park photographed earlier in June.  Now, part of USDA Wildlife Services' body count.  
USDA trucks pulling out of Inwood Hills Park last week with goose crates. (Photo: Suzanne Soehner)
"First they came for the geese, then the ducks, then the cormorants,  then the........But, by the time they came for the birds I care about,  everyone else had accepted massacre as the solution to all wildlife/human conflict."

If the above sounds paranoid, then we might consider an article out of Virginia yesterday in which USDA WS is not only rounding up geese for slaughter, but "200 feral ducks" as well. (Not sure what is meant by "feral" ducks, since all ducks with exception of domestic, are technically wild.):

It is already established that Wildlife Services secretly kills millions of animals annually, including large numbers of starlings, geese, gulls, herrings, ducks, cormorants and others:

But, here in New York City the "cash cow" of USDA Wildlife Services is of course, Canada geese.

USDA has begun their annual goose slaughter exceptionally early this year and has already sent hundreds of NYC geese to their secret and publicly hidden deaths (and we are not even into July yet).

Reports are coming in that geese were hit at Van Courtland Park (in the Bronx) last week, Corona Park in Queens and of course, Inwood Park and a West 59th Street Park in Manhattan.

These are just the slaughters we know about -- only one of which (Inwood Park) was reported by any press.

Although some people are taking the time to report sightings of USDA trucks filled with crates of geese, we are not getting critically needed photos and videos of actual roundups.

Without documentation of an incident, it didn't happen.  (At least in the eyes of press.)

That is why, (27) GooseWatch NYC is urging everyone with a cell phone or camera to shoot photos or video of any roundup observed, as well as photograph and keep tabs on any park geese who are potential victims of a USDA roundup:

There is no question now that a full fledged goose carnage is happening in New York City -- perhaps the worst "eradication" effort we have seen in the city since roundups started a number of years ago.

That is because goose massacres have now been expanded to and include Long Island.   

A 5 PM rally and press conference will be held this Wednesday (June 26) at Columbus Circle (near Central Park) to address the clandestine goose slaughters and to debunk the rationalizations used to defend them:

This is the time for every New Yorker who cares about wildlife and nature protection to stand up and be counted, less ultimately we have no wildlife left to care about.

"First they came for the geese, but I said nothing because....."

This struggle is not just about geese.  It is about all wildlife. And it is not just about protest.

It's about questioning the secret and clandestine manner our government, (most notably, USDA Wildlife Services) is operating without press coverage, public input or even (in most cases), awareness.  -- PCA
                                                           


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