Humane Society opposes plans for Delavan Lake goose kill
The Humane Society of the United States is urging the town of Delavan to abandon its plans to have the USDA capture and kill Canadian geese on parts of Delavan Lake.
Residents are split in the issue, however, with an unscientific online poll supporting that plan by a margin of 2-1.
Town Chair Dorothy Burwell told reporter Ann Marie Ames that she isn't thrilled about hiring the U.S. Department of Agriculture Wildlife Service to drastically reduce the goose population on Delavan Lake.
Goose droppings at Delavan Community Park make it nearly unusable as a recreation area.
"Children can't play there. You can't go through there with sandals. It's an issue," Burwell said.
In an e-mailed letter to Burwell, Lynsey White Dasher, an urban wildlife specialist with the Humane Society of the United States, urges the town to suspend the Canada goose kill program and implement more humane and effective solutions.
(The national group is not affiliated with local groups, such as the Lakeland Animal Welfare Society or the Rock County Humane Society.)
"The best programs are those which use humane means for controlling population growth of Canada geese and aversively condition geese not to remain on sites where they cause problems," Dasher wrote. "This can most effectively be done by comprehensive egg and nest treatment (addling) programs, combined with harassment strategies.
Park Director Steve Shoff says the town has tried a variety of methods to get handle on the goose population.
They've tried spraying eggs and holding a special early fall goose hunt. For the last two years, the town has had a special permit to destroy goose nests, Shoff said.
Some municipalities and golf courses have used dogs to chase the geese away or installed fake coyotes as deterrents, but said those techniques just won't work in this environment.
The goose kill will be paid for with a $4,000 grant from the Delavan Lake Sanitary District
Officials have not set a date for the goose capture, but it likely will take place between mid-June and early July.
Jul 19, 2010 at 9:54 p.m.
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The goose meat feeds people, a win win. Are all HS personnel vegetarians?? feces carries disease or are we not worried about that??
Jun 3, 2010 at 2:29 p.m.
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Anyone got idea's how to make lazy people take shopping carts to the cart stalls? Walmart has a big problem with carts breeding all over the lot.
Easy to kill geese, not so easy to control the mess from lazy people.
Maybe we should give the stores some grant money, so we don't have to drive around the mess.
Jun 3, 2010 at 12:54 p.m.
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Actually, PETA is down right mainstream and tame compared to HSUS.
Jun 3, 2010 at 11:15 a.m.
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The Humane Society of the United States is an animal rights group similar to PETA. (Almost all their funds go to lobbying and very little to rescuing animals.) Seriously, is this news? W
Jun 3, 2010 at 10:34 a.m.
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When did geese become more important than people? We need to get them out of Janesville parks also, by whatever means necessary.
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