How the geese were killed is extremely important since it goes to the issues of humanity and compassion. CO2 inhalation is not humane, but conducive to an agonized, stressful death. Compassion should be for all species, not just the human.

Yesterday, an Alaskan airliner had to make an emergency landing after an Eagle got chewed up in the engine. So, what is the real solution here? Kill EVERY bird over 4 Lbs who flies? Or, utilize radar and build better planes? It is a bit disconcerting to realize that a ten pound bird can take down a 50 ton plane. I am not taking any plane trips anytime soon. It just doesn't seem a realistic option to kill every swan, eagle, goose and millions of other birds who migrate ever year and dare to fly.

lol @ utilize radar

Please, people, understand what this is truly about: We live in a country that is guided by the rule of law. But, there is little question that laws were either outrightly violated or severely thrwarted in order to accomodate this in the wee hours of the morning roundup, binding and gassing. Government is supposed to serve and inform the people. People of the PP community were neither served nor informed about the mayhem and massacre that would invade its public park one July morning under a governmental banner. This struggle is not just about whether one likes geese or not. Its about government overstepping its bounds and even violating or circumventing its own "rules." That is a very dangerous precedent, would not one agree? As for Prospect Park, it allowed the carnage to take place and even a month later has failed to answer important questions. The people have a right to know exactly where and how the geese were gassed and where the bodies ended up. We have a right to ask why the entire goose population was exterminated at Prospect Park when the park is not "within 7 miles" of the major airports. How would some of you who defend this carnage like to be the pedestrian who one day stumbles upon large garbage bags with dozens of gassed geese in them as one unfortunate person in New Jersey did? Its important to see the larger issue here, as thanfully, the Gothamist has. This was killing on the cheap and on the sly with your tax dollars paying the USDA to do the dirty work. You can bet the house that rules were twisted and violated and these 368 geese died a horrible and unjustified death.

Since you're so convinced that rules were violated, surely you're able to name which rules, and how.

And, really? "Where and how the geese were gassed and where their bodies ended up" is an important question?

Again, I say: why not put all these energy toward good use. MANY MANY MANY more than 368 humans are killed every day. In fact, over 25,000 people die EVERY SINGLE DAY from hunger alone...16,000 of them children. Are you putting as much energy toward investigating that?

If you are so concerned with all of those other issues, that you no doubt spend MANY MANY MANY hours of your own time helping, I suggest that you check out such articles and comment threads that deal with those matters, since - and I don't want to shock you here, but - THIS ARTICLE AND COMMENT THREAD DEALS WITH GEESE.

To not comprehend the bigger picture here and the underpinnings of what is involved is extremely short-sighted and ignorant. There is a cruelty issue, there is a mismanagement issue and there is a safety issue that already HAS a solution. It's called bird radar and mapping migration routes. End of problem. Anything else is just pointless hyperbole and more of this Mayor's endless schemes to terrorize the public in order to shake more money out of their pockets while doing absolutely nothing of any real value.

If you want to take up those other issues, by the way, ask Bloomberg what he's doing for the hungry and the homeless. He'd probably like to gas them along with the geese.

Aww, Felix, those pictures are touching

I don't know whether Prospect Park geese pose a threat to aviation or not, but I was running past the Lake the other day and it smelled like an open cesspool because it's overrun with geese and full of goose shit. A public park doesn't just manage itself; invasive species need to be controlled. This wouldn't even be an issue if they were capturing rats and killing them.

All that energy wasted on disease-spreading birds. Imagine if these protesters put themselves to good use doing, I don't know, productive stuff. There's a lot wrong with the world right now, and I just can't get on board with considering geese near the top of the list.

And isn't it interesting that Nazi Germany got started in much the same way.....a few laws were bent, people looked the other way, one group was blamed for the country's problems and because no one cared about the group that was blamed and in fact, considered them a nuisance, 6 million people were rounded up - like the geese, in the middle of the night, with their children, and like the geese, were gassed to death.

THAT, my dear, is why you should get on board with this issue. There is a bigger picture here. Whether it is about geese or people, any time the government lies to the public, twists laws to do its will, and perpetrates actions secretly and in the middle of the night, it must be called on it and stopped. And anytime cruelty is involved, we lose a little more of our humanity if we DON'T deal with it. The fact that you don't seem to comprehend this tells me that you have already lost some of your humanity without even realizing it.

Why don't they try using dogs to change the migration patterns of the geese? I just saw a show about it on the National Geographic Channel where specialists introduce highly trained dogs as "predators" (they just chase the geese around) into the nearby airport stomping grounds of geese and it keeps them away. No geese are injured, they just find somewhere else to hang out. Apparently certain airports around the country use this approach and it is highly effective.

The dogs / handlers would need to be constantly on duty because it's not a once-and-done solution, but a much better alternative to the 'just kill them all' mentality.

Of course, you realize that the killing programs are not "once and done" either.....especially because they will not solve the problem.

If there's an ongoing program, I'd certainly prefer it to be the dogs, which has a proven success record.

"However, there have only been 78 geese strikes in 10 years"

---ONLY 78? Seriously? Stick to sappy animal articles, since math and probability seem to elude you.

78 strikes x estimated 150 people on each of those planes = over 10,000 potential deaths, which makes 9/11 look like amateur night.

yep, i say team human is the one i'm on.

and people need to cut that 'oh, but these aren't migratory geese!' nonsense. they're geese, they fly, period.

Mayor Bloomberg was "afraid for his safety" from a group of peaceful protesters - he's a gutless little dicator who's only got a big mouth when it comes to trying to terrorize the public into falling in line with his sham bird slaughter plan - a plan, by the way, that YOU will fund with your tax dollars endlessly, because it will NOT solve the problem. Isn't it interesting that Bloomberg is silent when the truth about this issue comes out, which dismantles his assertions completely.

How is it that killing birds is the ONLY solution we, as a so-called "higher species," seem to be able to come up with? Do you seriously believe that we can invent Droids, iPods, etc. with endless apps, GPS systems, and numerous other entertainment technology but we CAN'T come up with bird-detecting radar? REALLY? We already have it. The question everyone SHOULD be asking is why aren't we using it. Do you think for one minute that Air Force One doesn't have it? Shouldn't every plane have it? Europe uses it. No one is killing birds but us. Everyone else is smarter.

With bird radar AND mapping major migratory routes which are well known and established for thousands of years (New York is directly in the Atlantic Flyway, a migration route for many species) and planning flights around those routes, we could cut bird strikes to virtually nothing without killing a single bird. Why are you people believing a slimy politician who hasn't told you the truth in 3 terms and couldn't care less about your safety?

Geese account for an extremely small percentage of the birds involved in air strikes, so this jihad against them makes no sense. There is also a money trail here straight to the USDA's pockets, with, no doubt, a nice kickback to Bloomberg. And as long as he can scare the bejesus out of you by reaching to your fears about your safety in the air, you are foolish enough to fall for it.

It might interest you to know that pilot error accounts for more crashes and near misses than virtually any other reason. And yet, I don't see anyone proposing that we gas pilots to death. Quite frankly, a pilot having a couple of drinks before getting in a plane, or taking meds or being overtired from an extended turnaround schedule, or just having a fight with his wife prior to take off scares me a hell of a lot more than birds do.

Yes, bird-airplane strikes exist - because we are in THEIR space. We admired birds enough to duplicate their aerodynamics in designing airplanes. We should respect birds enough and we should respect people enough to use the safety devices that we already have that would guarantee air safety...for ALL.

Kill the Geese, cut their throats! bash them in!

Look at your demented animal lover mind Jen, ONLY 78 in ten years? Thats almost 8 a year, which when striking an ariliner, could mean several hundred deaths per incident. 1 strike is too many. The only problem I see is that they have been wasting the meat.

well you know, that and there are 100's of thousands of freaking geese. So, um, there are close to 20 MILLION flights each year around the world... EVEN IF 20 planes were taken down by geese each year it still seems retarded to me to kill geese over it.

What is wrong with people?!?!?

Rest in Geese.