"Hunt to target geese near Canadian airport"

Wednesday, November 6, 2002

Hunt to target geese near London airport
Officials cite safety, but the plan angers an animal-rights activist.
By MARISSA NELSON
Canada - The London Free Press


Officials will begin shooting Canada geese near London's airport this
week in a bid to control the population. 

The decision has outraged at least one animal-rights activist, who
accuses the Upper Thames River Conservation Authority of taking the easy
way out in dealing with the problem. 

Authority officials say left unchecked, the birds could become a serious
safety concern for London International Airport, so staff will try to
scare the geese away from property leased to Forest City National Golf
Club. 

Alex Shivas, in charge of operations and properties for the conservation
authority, said a pond on the golf course is home to 200 geese
year-round, with another 100 migratory geese there now. 

"We're not trying to eliminate the population, we're trying to control
the population," Shivas said. 

In total, officials expect to kill 10 to 20 birds, he said, but the main
purpose is to scare the geese into finding a new home. 

"We're hoping the geese will just think twice about living here," Shivas
said. 

Airport president Steve Baker said geese are a serious safety concern.
"If they get ingested into an engine, it would cause the immediate
shutdown of that engine." 

"There are pretty significant problems that can occur and have occurred
at other airports in Canada," Baker said. 

Florine Morrison, with London Animal Alliance, said there are many more
effective and humane ways of getting rid of the geese. 

"They're killing animals because they're an inconvenience," Morrison
said. 

"They're finding the cheapest and easiest way of getting rid of the
geese." 

The golf course created the problem by making an inviting habitat and
should pay for a more humane solution, she added. 

Shivas said the conservation authority first started looking at the
problem after the golf course complained the population was growing, as
was the amount of goose droppings on the course, which is a health
concern. 

Uncontrolled, the goose population could double in three years, causing
a serious problem for the airport, Shivas said. 

"We need to have a balance. If the population of geese grows to 700 or
1,500, it's beyond that balance." 

The authority is considering other ways to discourage the geese from
living in the airport's flight path, including sterilizing eggs,
changing the habitat and relocating the geese. 

"We're in this for the long term," Shivas said. 

He said the hunt is different than a cull because the intent is to scare
the geese away, not kill a certain percentage of the population. 

This is the first time the conservation authority has hunted geese, so
it hasn't invited hunters to help -- as they do for deer culls --
because officials want to control it carefully. 

The hunting season for Canada geese is open, but James Vanoff of the
Canadian Wildlife Service said it isn't significantly reducing the
number of geese. 

"They're a big nuisance species right now," he said. "They're adaptable
and smart."


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