Friday, July 3, 2015

Holiday Celebrations and Wildlife Destruction for Appearance Sake


Some community parks around the country in last minute effort to "clean-up" their lakes and ponds of geese in preparation for July 4th celebrations. 
 
It seemed for a short while, that there weren't as many, "Plague of Geese" news stories or reports of goose culls around the country as some of us are used to seeing this time of year.
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But apparently I was premature in perceiving this.
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As we approach the July 4th holiday, there are suddenly a rash of such stories popping up on Internet news sites.
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For purposes of brevity, this blog will only focus on the goose "removal" and "euthanization" news reports of which, these are the latest three: 
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It is indeed regrettable that some city or community parks include in their plans for holiday celebrations, "clean up" of the parks' molting geese populations.   
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Are they afraid park visitors will freak out if seeing some geese on a lake or pond?
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Can they not use the opportunity of existing wildlife as further attractant to community parks?
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Finally, do they not understand -- or care that the geese are only in the locations temporarily though the molting period and once gaining flight feathers, leave?
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It's unfortunate for the geese that their molting period happens to coincide with a national holiday when people typically "flock" to park lakes or beaches to watch fireworks and otherwise celebrate.
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It is grotesquely ironic that a flock of creatures naturally in a location are not allowed to exist and are instead, sent to their deaths for appearance sake.
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When watching my geese at the Central Park Reservoir tomorrow night (as fireworks go off in the distance), I will think of and say a little prayer for all the unfortunate geese for whom, "tolerance" was not part of holiday celebration.
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Small wonder holidays generally have little, if any meaning to me as far too often, they have become silent, complicit celebrations of death -- though loathe for most of us to ever admit that.
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Better to call death for appearance sake, "euthanasia."
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We truly need a new word for the ending of life for reasons of mercy and ending un-relievable and terminal suffering, as "euthanize" has become so perverted as to lose all meaning entirely.
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This is especially true when infliction of death is conducted for reasons of appearance, convenience and "clean-up." -- PCA
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