Results tagged “canadagoose”

The roundup of Canada geese around NYC airports is now nearly halfway complete with a total of 800 having been trapped and gassed. Operation "Goose-Be-Gone" has now removed geese from 15 of the 40 sites within 5 miles of Kennedy and LaGuardia Airports that is expected to kill around 2,000 birds. However one wildlife expert told the Queens Tribute that the city's removal program is only skimming the surface. Dr. Steven Graber said, “They’re definitely on the right track. They’re finally doing what they’ve been supposed to have been doing this entire time. However, they’re forgetting about 90 percent of the property and 90 percent of the problem.” A spokesman for the mayor's office disputed that saying, “In the City, there isn’t much open space that isn’t city owned." The Times had more pictures of the geese being rounded up earlier in the week at Randalls Island.

According to the NY Post, Operation Kill At Least 2,000 NYC Geese is well underway: "Nearly 100 Canada geese were killed yesterday...Agents from the US Department of Agriculture hit four city parks and will continue rounding up the geese this week, said Allen Gosser the department's assistant state director." How did the USDA agents do it? They brought the geese "into a corralled area" and put them in "wooden crates," later gassing them with carbon dioxide. The city and Port Authority are trying to cull/kill geese in order to improve airline safety, since Flight 1549 was brought down when geese flew into the Airbus 320's engines. However, some critics of the plan say some humane measures, like scaring them with fireworks or changing the landscaping, might also be effective. Yes, what about the Geese Police, those cute border collies who help rid areas of geese?

The Humane Society of the United States has weighed in on New York City's—and the Port Authority's—plan to cull/kill/gas 2,000 geese. The city perceives the geese as a threat to airline safety, given that geese took down US Airways Flight 1549 (Mayor Bloomberg reiterated on his radio show, "We're trying to strike a balance. In the safety of flying, the public trumps the rights of the geese"), but the Humane Society says, "The best and most lasting solution to secure the safety of air travelers as well as preserve wildlife is to reduce the attractiveness of airport-vicinity open space to animals such as waterfowl and to limit access to other creatures."

In other Flight 1549 news, the city and Port Authority are embarking on a plan to kill at least 2,000 pesky Canada geese living within 5 miles of airports. Mayor Bloomberg said, "The serious dangers that Canada geese pose to aviation became all too clear when geese struck US Airways Flight 1549. The incident served as a catalyst to strengthen our efforts in removing geese from - and discouraging them from nesting on - city property near our runways."

Today, the Federal Aviation administration will release data on bird strikes, reversing its earlier position that it would keep the information secret. The demand for the bird strike data grew after US Airways Flight 1549 splash-landed into the Hudson earlier this year—birds had hit the plane's engines. The FAA claimed that the data might give people negative perceptions about certain airports or airlines, but lawmakers and the National Transportation Safety Board criticized the attempt at secrecy, pointing out indepedent researchers could help examine the data and provide comparisons. At any rate, bird strikes do happen and they are hard to prevent, though there are programs to limit the populations of birds (specifically Canada geese) at airports. The FAA's new bird strike data website will be here.