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While every animal, no matter how ugly or useless, has its defenders, no one seems to like Canada Geese. And better yet, everyone seems to want them dead.
The Post is reporting today that some 600 Canada Geese that have long called Anacostia Park their home may soon be killed, due to their tendency to eat vital marsh grasses and then defecate in the already-polluted river. In a hearing last week held by the National Park Service on the geese, one local environmental activist showed no mercy for their existence, arguing, "It's nice to think about never harming another creature...Preserving that at the [cost of the] long-term success of the river, I think, is a mistake."
The geese have long provoked complaints. Last May, the groundskeeping staff at the Langston Legacy Golf Course in Southeast complained that the geese were eating the grass on the fairway and then leaving their business behind. The same month, the City Paper dedicated an entire cover story to the geese, writing, "[the birds'] prolific pooping poses a nuisance" to the area's ecosystem.
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The geese being referred to are "resident birds" as opposed to migratory birds, which only stay temporarily in the fall during their migration south. Resident birds are those that have adopted a specific geographic area (large or small) to live on a permanent basis. Canadians are not native to this area (as the name implies). I am going to guess that these geese have established themselves and grown emboldened by the lack of hunting in the District and the significant goose hunting restrictions that have been in place in Maryland during the last 10-15 years. Not sure what VA has done. It's a shame that mass extermination is being proposed, but it's a lesson to those who have knee-jerk reactions against hunting. Be careful about what you wish for because you might not know what you're going to get.
how about the affect golf courses have on the long-term successes of rivers? can we kill them, too?
Is it too late to forcefeed them until their livers become hideously bloated and are then transmformed into sweet, delicious fois gras?
I love the golf course owner having the audacity to complain about nature taking its toll on his property. Fuck him and his bourgie, eco-unfriendly industry.
I call hatecrime on DCfist. Langston is a historic African-American golf course that opened in 1939 when segregation prevented blacks from indulging in this booshwa, eco-unfriendly sport. Clearly, in this case, nature is being worse than Hitler.
Short of leaving the property completely undeveloped, isn't a golf course one of the most non-intrusive, eco-friendly ways that land can be used? I can't really see how any other form of construction could be moreso. And have you ever been out on that course? Having some resident geese is one thing, but it's like that Hitchcock movie The Birds out there. The chances of your ball escaping contamination from the sheer density of goose 'leavings' is pretty low.
And you ain't NEVER had frenchfries until you've had them cooked in goose fat. Moules, frites, and a good Belgian ale. Them's good eatins.
These geese are a nuisance. They are no longer scared of humans. I was golfing on a public course in Lorton and the damn things wouldn't move off the fairway. The ball would land right in the middle of them and they would barely flinch. Going in after you ball was like playing russian roulette. They don't care to move and seem to be ready to strike when you get too close.
Next, the amount of poop these things produce rivals that of a room full of toddlers. Ever had to go onto a sports field and play the first game of the day? It's like walking through a mine field.
I say we make a game out of this. Like shooting sporting clays.
-Twitch
I'm all for exterminating the birds, but making sure to utilize their meat for some worthy cause, feeding the hungry, etc. And do it in the most humane way possible, no force-feeding please!
-Mr T in DC
Krisa: a common misconception, but most golf courses use ridiculous amounts of pesticides and fertilizers that contribute to a wide range of things like algae blooms and chemical injury, all for the almighty putting green. Woohoo.
Believe the standard mass - aquatic - bird - extermination method is to spray them with soap, destroying their ability to remain waterproof and insulated in the water - causing them to die of hypothermia. But I imagine you could eat them afterwards.
And golf courses - golf courses are hard. Just because it's plants doesn't mean it's an ecofriendly place. Poorly managed courses dump a lot of stormwater and a lot a lot of chemicals (pesticides) into the waterways, while bringing in strange introduced species and sucking out an enormous amount of energy. Well-designed golf courses are a great way to get almost a parivately-financed park in urban settings where it would otherwise be too expensive.
Langston is a public course that allows a wide cross section of DC residents to play a sport at an affordable price. Go there on a Saturday morning, you will not find a more diverse place in all of DC.
Has Jim Graham banned crush videos yet? 'Cause I wanna stomp me some goose!
This is a serious issue around the country. In my my hometown in rural Massachusetts local authorities have banned swimming in the lakes and ponds because of elevated bacteria levels from goose droppings.
While few Canadian geese used to stay year-round, their habitats further north and south are changing, forcing them to adjust. So while we used to only see geese in the transitional seasons, more and more are staying year round.
While I don't necessarily like the idea of killing all the geese, we are inadvertently (intentionally) doing it anyway everytime we destroy natural habitat.
KILL GOLF NOT GEESE
I want that on a bumper sticker!
Can't we get rid of the geese AND the golf course? That area's a perfect site for a Wegmans. Plenty of parking space, nice view of the river, occasional gangland slaying.
yes! Canada geese. NOT canadian geese. That is such a pet peeve of mine. I once saw a teacher bitch slap another teacher over this in the fourth grade and it stuck with me. It was amazing.
Border collies to the rescue!
http://www.geesepeace.org/
my college, in a pathetic attempt to keep geese off the lawn, hired a woman and her dog to row out into the lake and bark at them (the dog, not the woman). needless to say, the geese just waddled a few feet away and went on, blissfully unconcerned.
First, they are Canada Geese, not Canadian geese. Just want to clarify.
Second, these geese won't have that much fat on them, so it'll be impossible to render enough fat from (though that is delicious). Canada geese make fantastic jerky, though, so that'd be a good option.
I understand that the Virginia Crime Commission recommends deporting undocumented Canada Geese.
Monkey, I thought horsefat was supposed to be the tastiest way to make fries?
All bird droppings are acidic and not only can eat away paint if poop is left on a painted surface, but exposure to it can easily cause respiratory problems in humans.
SHOOT DEM GEESE!
Before you hit that chip shot at Langston, besides maybe moving a twig or a leaf, you always need to look for goose sh*t to avoid the splatter effect. If it's a newly minted sliver, sometimes it's tough to fling with the sand wedge. And those little bastards can be right in the middle of the fairway making it tough to distinguish your ball from goose sh*t. Eliminate the canuck ducks and get rid of the starters at Langston too.