It was nice meeting you as well.  Always nice to have a face with a name.

I’m on a national steering committee supported by “In Defense of Animals” called National Goose Protection Coalition. According to our documents, the idea that slaughtered geese will be fed to humans or animals is a myth.  Geese eat greenery contaminated with pesticides and insecticides, and meat inspection laws prohibit slaughterhouses with poultry processing licenses from taking wild caught geese.  I would be interested to have a discussion with Mike Hooks since no one responded to me in 2018 when I reached out to confirm where the slaughtered geese went.  If you would be so kind to send his phone number to me, I will call him and discuss.  

People often want to remove geese from an area because of the misconception that geese or their droppings are a health hazard.  No study, however, links Canada geese to any infectious disease that is transmittable to humans or domestic animals.  Additionally, geese do not significantly increase the levels of harmful bacteria in ponds and reservoirs.  If you ask Tom Janasek (and I also have a copy of the water tests conducted by ACT in 2018), the bacteria levels in our ponds actually increased after the cull in 2018.  A significant amount of dog fecal matter did show up in our recent PCR water tests, as well as human DNA, which caused all the ruckus.

Instead, studies show that pollution from human waste and agricultural runoff can expose both geese and humans to bacterial contamination.  The best protective measures include addressing poor water circulation, sediment buildup, over-fertilization, and other environmental factors and employing common sense when around potentially contaminated areas.  Goose droppings pose little health hazard since they consist of 70% water and 30% grass.  If they bake in the sun, they actually turn into little straw like poofs.

It is unethical to kill an animal because it poops and we find it inconvenient when there are a lot of non-lethal management practices that can be employed.  We must find a way to co-exist with Canada geese and other wildlife.  We will always have them in Ocean Pines.  If Ocean Pines oils the eggs, puts up a barrier (hopefully attractive) between the land and ponds, geese will feel less safe to propagate and will find other places to molt as well.  We can do this.  It is a matter of educating the residents and increasing our general tolerance of these animals.

Thank you for personally reaching out to me and not bashing me on the forum.  I retired here to have a peaceful rest of my life and not to become involved in local politics or the HOA issues.  But nothing gets my dander up more than someone abusing children, animals, or the elderly.  I stand up for the voiceless and have never gotten over June 29th, 2018 when I woke up to a quiet South Pond from the secretive cull. The round-up was highly controversial and upset many residents.  Gassing is also a horrible death for birds with such a large lung capacity.

Regards,

Sharon