We owe it to the geese to solve the mess we created How refreshing to see your editorial that calls into serious question the gassing deaths of 4.200 resident Canada geese this summer. I agree that this sets a horrible example for our children and our society as we so easily and quietly eliminate unwanted wild creatures from our urbanized areas without due consideration of alternatives. Humane methods of goose population control, such as egg addling, have not been comprehensively tested or carried out. Our selfish desire to quickly rid our lakefront lawns, parks and shorelines of the nuisance and aesthetic displeasure of goose droppings has led us down this path to lethal control, which is faster, cheaper and easier than humane methods. I am shocked that in a compassionate city like Seattle, this mass gassing of wildlife is silently accepted.
Humans are responsible for the goose problem.
By doing so, we have displaced many native species of birds while encouraging species that favor grass landscapes, like Canada geese and European starlings. Unless the geese pose a significant public health hazard to humans and until reasonable, non-lethal alternatives have been tried extensively and failed, this mass killing of the geese is unjustified and wrong.