16 votes

Denver is capturing geese from city parks to be killed and given to hungry families

12 comments

  1. [2]
    teaearlgraycold
    (edited )
    Link
    This reminds me of how people are eating types of fish in areas where they're an invasive species.

    This reminds me of how people are eating types of fish in areas where they're an invasive species.

    9 votes
    1. Neverland
      (edited )
      Link Parent
      We learned how to eat invasive Lion Fish in the Florida Keys. It's a bit of work but the poison is just in the spines, and there is no limit. They taste just like whitefish. If anyone here is into...

      We learned how to eat invasive Lion Fish in the Florida Keys. It's a bit of work but the poison is just in the spines, and there is no limit. They taste just like whitefish. If anyone here is into hunting, please help the local fish out and go hog-wild with your spearguns!

      Also please see: https://lionfish.co/eat-lionfish-here/

      8 votes
  2. monarda
    Link
    Seattle has a similar goose problem and cull fairly often. The geese don't have much predator pressure these days.

    Seattle has a similar goose problem and cull fairly often. The geese don't have much predator pressure these days.

    8 votes
  3. hamstergeddon
    Link
    Can't say I really object to this. If they have a genuine goose problem and they've found a way to use the solution to solve another problem, then good on them. As far as ethical treatment of...

    Can't say I really object to this. If they have a genuine goose problem and they've found a way to use the solution to solve another problem, then good on them. As far as ethical treatment of animals go, it's about as offensive to me as hunting deer for sustenance (so not at all). As long as they don't go overboard and start negatively impacting the ecosystem with huge drops in the goose population, this sounds like an okay idea to me.

    I do question how healthy (or I guess...gross?) it is to eat animals that roam urban areas though. I'd imagine they consume a great deal more garbage than their more rural counterparts do. Canadian Geese are herbivores, but I'd imagine they often mistake trash for food.

    8 votes
  4. [7]
    alyaza
    Link
    this is... a thing that's happening now i guess? and apparently it's somewhat sustainable because denver has a metric fuck ton of geese?

    this is... a thing that's happening now i guess? and apparently it's somewhat sustainable because denver has a metric fuck ton of geese?

    4 votes
    1. [6]
      Neverland
      Link Parent
      Geese are slaughtered for the most trivial of reasons in the USA. I remember a planned neighborhood in Redmond, WA killing them due to their poop in the communal pond. At least this is a step...

      Geese are slaughtered for the most trivial of reasons in the USA. I remember a planned neighborhood in Redmond, WA killing them due to their poop in the communal pond. At least this is a step forward? I mean it is much less food waste.

      for context see: https://www.google.com/search?q=us+geese+extermination

      I tried duckduckgo, but the results were not appropriate.

      edit: I do personally find it awful that is a thing.

      5 votes
      1. [5]
        Deimos
        Link Parent
        I'm curious if you've ever lived anywhere with a lot of geese. They're really not pleasant to have around. In the town I grew up, I lived near a park that was completely overrun with geese. As the...

        I do personally find it awful that is a thing.

        I'm curious if you've ever lived anywhere with a lot of geese. They're really not pleasant to have around.

        In the town I grew up, I lived near a park that was completely overrun with geese. As the article says, they produce an insane amount of poop, and the entire park was covered in it. They turn anywhere they congregate into a place where nobody can sit down any more, because everything is coated in goose shit. Even just walking through can be dangerous because it's slippery, and you really don't want to slip and fall down.

        There were multiple sports fields in the town (including one in that park) that everybody hated using, because of all the goose shit. You couldn't dive/slide without getting covered in it, soccer balls would end up with it all over them (and then you don't want to do things like bounce them off your chest), your shoes would immediately get coated in shit, etc.

        They're also quite territorial and will chase and attack people (including children) pretty viciously.

        They're pretty high up on the "nuisance" scale, almost like giant, aggressive pigeons. I definitely understand towns needing to get rid of them.

        17 votes
        1. [2]
          Comment deleted by author
          Link Parent
          1. nsz
            Link Parent
            I also have a goose story; I volunteered for an event where participants would get blindfolded then led around the city for a couple hours, experiencing blindness first hand. So I'm leading this...

            I also have a goose story; I volunteered for an event where participants would get blindfolded then led around the city for a couple hours, experiencing blindness first hand.
            So I'm leading this person through fairly narrow path through a park, then a goose starts approaching. I mention it and how it's kind of close, but I didn't see it as a threat, my voice was calm so neither did they. As we got close it raised it's wings, looking like it wanted a fight, at that point I manoeuvred so it passed on my side thinking it's just a show. Damn thing got me in the thigh then buggered off.
            Really got me thinking just how dependent the blindfoldee is on me, and the level of trust needed. They didn't see me prior to getting blindfolded, only thing they have to go off is my voice and their grip on my elbow. But also, bloody geese are a vicious.

            3 votes
        2. imperialismus
          Link Parent
          On that note, fuck seagulls. They're not as big as geese, at least. But they're more numerous, they shit everywhere, and they get really aggressive if you go anywhere near their kids. I remember...

          On that note, fuck seagulls. They're not as big as geese, at least. But they're more numerous, they shit everywhere, and they get really aggressive if you go anywhere near their kids. I remember some gulls had their newly hatched chicks hidden in the bushes on the edge of a sidewalk in my neighborhood, really hard to see. Meaning anyone who walked down that sidewalk suspecting nothing would get divebombed by these assholes.

          I imagine if you have a bunch of birds four times as large but acting in the same way, it would be a serious issue.

          6 votes
        3. Neverland
          (edited )
          Link Parent
          Oh, I have absolutely lived in a place where they were a nuisance. My brother lives near Genesee Park in Seattle. Every time I have gone there to fly r/c airplanes with my nephews and I get...

          Oh, I have absolutely lived in a place where they were a nuisance. My brother lives near Genesee Park in Seattle. Every time I have gone there to fly r/c airplanes with my nephews and I get grossed out by all the goose turds that we all end up stepping on. I guess the reason that I find it "awful" is that humans kill animals that are a just a nuisance. It's not like they are eating our food supply or something. My personal bias is towards a bleeding heart, that's all I meant there. As we encroach on the entire biosphere, I just find it troubling that we have historically had little regard for lower lifeforms. At the same time, we are a product of nature, and therefore everything we do is a product of nature. This Is Necessary. I am very conflicted on most topics in this domain.

          4 votes
        4. tomf
          Link Parent
          There is a goose-family in Stanley Park that has a thirty-five year peanut butter and jam sandwich debt to me. Awful birds. I hear they taste alright, though.

          There is a goose-family in Stanley Park that has a thirty-five year peanut butter and jam sandwich debt to me.

          Awful birds. I hear they taste alright, though.

          3 votes
  5. patience_limited
    Link
    Aside from the grossness factors, Canada geese are chock full of pathogens, and it's not great to have them defecating extravagantly in close contact with people and water supplies. I know it's an...

    Aside from the grossness factors, Canada geese are chock full of pathogens, and it's not great to have them defecating extravagantly in close contact with people and water supplies.

    I know it's an ethical question as to whether it would be better to modify the park habitats so the geese don't congregate in such hazardous numbers, but we might as well act like their missing apex predators in the interim.

    3 votes