Judgment day will arrive soon for dozens of Canada geese in Madison. Since 2011, the Madison Parks Division has sought and received federal permits to round up and euthanize geese in several city parks each summer, and plans are pending for this year as well.
The city contracts with a division of the United States Division of Agriculture to carry out the roundup. It typically occurs in late June or early July, when geese are mottling and many are temporarily unable to fly. The birds are herded together and put into poultry crates. Mature geese are trucked off to poultry processing plants. Goslings are taken to a facility where they are euthanized with carbon dioxide.
Mary Telfer, executive director of Alliance for Animals, calls the practice inhumane — particularly how the baby geese are killed by “putting them into a gas chamber.”
“When they gas the young ones, they literally cry out and squawk for their parents. The adult geese are slaughtered,” Telfer says. “It’s horrific. When they call it a goose roundup it doesn’t sound so bad. But what they are doing is cruel and unnecessary.”
The Alliance for Animals is urging residents to contact their alder and the Parks Division to stop the annual slaughter. Telfer doesn’t deny that geese can have a negative impact on the parks system. But she says it’s telling that these geese roundups typically occur at hours when the public won’t be watching.
“I get it. People who use the parks don’t want goose poop everywhere. But I don’t think those people are saying, ‘Hey. Let’s kill the geese,’” Telfer says. “We can deal with the problems geese create this year and then take more preventive steps next year to ensure no geese have to be killed. My organization is willing to help out. I’m confident lots of other people will, too. I just want to do the right thing.”
Eric Knepp, superintendent of the city parks division, estimates that close to 200 geese will be euthanized this summer. The city agency is currently determining where the roundups will occur. Knepp says they target “high conflict areas” between humans and geese including sections of Vilas, Olin-Turville and Brittingham parks, Vilas Beach and possibly other parks with shorelines.
“This is an ethical dilemma to some extent. We don’t enjoy having to use lethal methods to manage the geese population and we use many other non-lethal methods first,” Knepp says. “I think the image of gassing does seem to give the impression that it’s cruel or inhumane. But using carbon dioxide [to kill goslings] is an approved method of aviary euthanasia by the American Veterinary Medical Association.”
Rounding up and euthanizing Canada geese that reside in Madison parks was first proposed in 2010. The birds received a reprieve that year after public uproar led officials to cancel the cull to further study the issue. However, a year later, the Board of Parks Commissioners gave the plan a green light. The annual geese kill has occurred every year since.
“It varies from year to year. But we provide this service to around 30-40 municipalities each year around the state,” says Chip Lovell, division supervisor of the USDA’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS). “The Canada geese population is over two times larger than what the Department of Natural Resources has recommended in its management plan. So yes, there is an overabundance of them. They tend to congregate in urban areas where they create a nuisance and problems.”
Knepp says killing geese is just “one component of an integrated management plan.” He says it’s important to remember that humans are to blame for creating ideal habitats for the birds, which average 10-15 pounds when adults.
“The reality is, what we do in many parks is what geese like to live in: mowed turf right to the water’s edge. Take Vilas Park. If the goose population is at a certain level, the beach and shoreline area can become so undesirable to humans that it becomes unusable. We have seen this happen on a number of athletic fields, beach and other areas,” Knepp says. “Along bike paths we also tend to see problems with aggressive geese. Especially males, can be quite aggressive when protecting their nests.”
Knepp says managing the Canada geese population is a yearlong effort. He says in recent years, the Parks Division has stepped up non-lethal methods with some success. His staff has worked to restore shorelines with native plants — which the birds tend to avoid.
“Whenever we are working on a shoreline, we are thinking about how to reduce human-bird conflict, Knepp says. “Restoring native plants to shorelines is a huge part of our planning process now. Not everyone likes how it looks necessarily. But people are very understanding when we explain why we are doing it.”
In early spring, Knepp says methods are used to actively harass geese — sometimes using a remote-controlled device similar to what’s known as a “Goosinator” — to prevent the birds from nesting in sensitive areas. Fox and coyote decoys, as well as light beacons, have also been deployed in the past to prevent the birds from nesting.
Each year, Knepp says his agency also applies for a state permit to carry out what’s known as “egg oiling,” which prevents geese embryos from developing.
“The timing can be kind of tricky but egg oiling is probably our most effective method. Because of our efforts, we won’t have [to use lethal means] at Warner Park this year,” says Knepp. “Six or seven years ago, we captured over 100 geese at Warner Park. So we are making progress.”
This will be the first year the geese roundup won’t occur at Warner. In 2011, roughly 350 geese were captured in Madison parks and euthanized. Last year it was 200, and Knepp expects even fewer geese will be killed this year.
“We take no joy in conducting lethal takes and we want to be as transparent as possible about the process,” Knepp says. “This deserves community scrutiny. We welcome it. We understand there are real ethical concerns here.”
Telfer gives Knepp “credit for being willing to listen and hear the concerns about killing geese.” She was hopeful he might reconsider the decision, but now believes plans are moving forward. “Killing [geese] is such a temporary solution and there are many more effective and more permanent solutions that the [Parks Division] hasn’t tried.”
Knepp says Telfer has turned him on to using manure collectors to potentially collect goose poop so that soccer fields and beaches can still be enjoyed. The Alliance for Animals has even offered to raise fund to help defer the cost of the implements. Knepp says he’s currently exploring the idea.
“I’m following the policy set by our board and I think we are doing a good job balancing a number of factors,” says Knepp. “We have limited lethal takes and there’s a declining trend line there. I think we are on the right track. But I understand that not everyone is going to agree with that.”
