Ill-Conceived Plan Won't Make Flying Safer, Says Group
For Immediate Release:
June 22, 2011
Contact:
Kristin Richards 202-483-7382
New York City -- PETA has sent an urgent letter to New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo urging him to call off a planned lethal cull of geese living in parks near New York City airports. The letter comes on the heels of reports that the New York City Department of Environmental Protection and the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey—both of which are copied in the letter—are planning to slaughter an unspecified number of geese (more than 1,600 were killed last year) and donate the meat to food banks and shelters in Pennsylvania. In the letter, PETA points out that in addition to geese suffering during capture, transport, and slaughter, more geese will simply move in and fill the niches vacated by those who are killed as long as conditions in the parks remain attractive to the birds. PETA also enclosed a copy of its humane goose-control guide, which contains proven methods of controlling goose populations humanely and effectively.
PETA has also offered to donate healthy and humane vegan food to the Pennsylvania shelters and food banks that are expecting a donation in order to ensure that they will still get help.
"Killing geese isn't just inhumane—it's ineffective," says PETA President Ingrid E. Newkirk. "We're asking the agencies involved to hold off until a long-term solution is implemented that everyone—including the geese—can live with."
For more information, please visit PETA.org.
PETA's letter to Gov. Cuomo, the commissioner of the New York City Department of Environmental Protection, and the executive director of the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey follows.
June 22, 2011
The Honorable Andrew Cuomo
Governor of New York
Caswell F. Holloway, Commissioner
New York City Department of Environmental Protection
Christopher O. Ward, Executive Director
Port Authority of New York and New Jersey
Dear Governor Cuomo, Commissioner Holloway, and Mr. Ward:
I am writing on behalf of People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) and our more than 2 million members and supporters, including thousands across New York, concerning New York City's plan to capture and slaughter geese and donate their flesh to food banks in an attempt to reduce bird numbers near city airports. We respectfully urge you to adopt an integrated and humane goose-control program instead. PETA would be happy to work with you to implement a customized plan and to donate vegan meals to the food banks of your choosing.
The lethal goose-control initiative won't work to keep geese away from airports and will actually backfire. When animals are killed or removed from an area, a spike in their natural food supply results. This causes survivors and newcomers to breed at an accelerated rate, and populations actually increase. As a result, the city will quickly find itself in a costly killing cycle. The only long-term, effective way to control goose populations is to contain food sources and modify affected areas so that they are unattractive or inaccessible to them. An integrated management program involving habitat modification, exclusion, and repellents is the key to success, as many cities and companies, including Virginia Beach, Va.; Bend, Ore.; St. Louis, Mo.; and ESPN, have experienced. I am sending you PETA's humane goose control guide to get New York started, and we are happy to provide additional advice and guidance on this complex and common issue.
Geese are highly intelligent, sensitive, and devoted animals who form lifelong relationships, stand by wounded flock members, and mourn the loss of mates. If lethal measures are insisted upon, we implore you to ensure that the birds are humanely euthanized, rather than forcing them to endure the horrific ordeal of being trucked great distances to grim deaths at slaughterhouses. Please contact me to begin developing New York's humane goose-control plan.
Thank you for your consideration.
Sincerely,
Jodi Minion, Wildlife Biologist