Goose Executions Ruffle Feathers

Some see them as neighborhood pets. Others see them as freeloading flying rats who crashed Chesley “Sully” Sullenberger’s plane, and right now, this group is winning the fight over Canada geese. Federal wildlife officials have been rounding up the ubiquitous foul and gassing them to death, sparking a revolt from goose lovers, the LA Times reports. When 400 were culled from New York’s Prospect Park last month, residents mourned with a memorial service along the lake.

New York’s papers have been flooded by angry letters, and Facebook groups have sprung up to support the geese. The Humane Society has condemned the killings, urging the government to use humane means to disperse non-migratory bird populations, like harassing them with dogs. Others note that it was surely migratory birds, not the resident flocks the government is killing, that brought down Sully’s plane. “I think aviation safety is just an excuse,” said one animal rights activist. (More Canadian geese stories.)