NIGHTMARE GOOSE KILLS IN MISSOURI
AND WASHINGTON
For comprehensive information
about Canada geese, please see www.canadageese.org The Coalition
to Prevent the Destruction of Canada Geese is a Committee of Wildlife
Watch, Inc. Dr. Gregg Feigelson heads the Coalition, he is
the web designer and webmaster. He can be reached via the website. Dr.
Ann Frisch is the National Coordinator of the Coalition
to Protect Canada Geese, an all-volunteer network of Canada
goose protectors that includes the Coalition to Prevent the Destruction
of Canada Geese.
Contact: Ann Frisch afrisch@voyager.net
Susan and George Dobbelaere, formerly of
Weatherby Lake, Mo. led the battle to save the geese she came to
intimately know. She said there had been lots of opposition and
their local media received many calls the night of the roundup.
Suzi was regularly interviewed and as she was watching the interview
on TV, she saw footage of the shocking roundup, and the geese she
came to know so well. She said that the ganders Fred and Eviel,
and their mates had been together for 15 years since 1988. It "makes
me sick....Fred and Eviel and mates Ethel and Pretty were
not even very fertile anymore and laid only 2 eggs in 1999. I about
lost it when I saw their faces. Fred/Ethel were so gentle and mild-mannered."
Excerpts from: Flyaway, a Eulogy. Posted
by Brenda Shoss, Kinship Circle – Kinship.Circle@worldnet.att.net
They’d traveled miles unknown, across blue abandon, to settle
in this place. Their blueprint for survival: Fly as one. Live as
one. Bond for life. In the end, they went uncelebrated in an ambush
at daybreak. At 4 am on Thursday, June 21, field biologists silently
hiked over wet grass. Flyaway, I prayed. Just flyaway. But they could
not. Flightless and molting, their feathers fell in a bed of gentle
petals as they slept unaware. The humans assembled in a ring, to
deliberately force trapped birds into their nets. Together, the geese
lurched unavoidably in a tangle of wings, beaks, honks, and screeches.
Terrified, but still as one. What next? Loaded onto trucks, some
containers held babies. Others imprisoned adults bound for the slaughterhouse.
Someone must have heard their cries, desperate and loud, as they
were wrenched apart. Someone must have peered through a kitchen curtain
to witness their struggle.
By the first light, not a single goose remained. The water barely
rippled without its geese. In one spot, thousands of feathers on
the grass in a soundless memorial. Not one bird left. Only feathers.
Flyaway, I’d prayed. But in the end, they could not.
Thank you also to "The Seattle Goose People" who
patrolled the parks and stood between the geese and their killers.
They state: "The Goose People were private
individuals who were entirely funded by private individuals whose
only acknowledgement or reward is to have a goose whose life their
donation saved named after them." "…We were successful
in many of our attempts, yet failed at others. Our failures resulted
in several hundred Seattle geese being asphyxiated in our parks.
Our successes saved perhaps 1000 geese from the killer boxes." "…We
have made the Canada goose kill a controversial issue in the Seattle
area. It will be difficult for communities to again hire the USDA
killers as a ‘solution’ to perceived Canada goose conflicts."
CONGRATULATIONS
TO DONALD FEARE, ESQ. AND LOCO FOR THEIR MAJOR ROLE IN GETTING
THE TEXAS ANTI-CRUELTY BILL PASSED.
Don
wrote on June 7: Loco, a Beagle mix in Dallas had both of his eyes
gouged out but still managed to drag himself home. After long care
his eyes were lost, but he is doing fine. Yesterday, it was my
honor to be an invited guest to the signing ceremony for a new
law in our state. Gov. Rick Perry signed the new animal cruelty
bill which makes most animal cruelty a felony punishable
up to two years in jail. The signing was historical. It was
the first time in history an animal has ever signed a bill into
law. Both Gov. Perry and Loco signed the bill. That law
will forever be filed with the laws of this state with both the
governor’s signature and Loco’s paw print
IN RECOGNITION OF VIRGINIA GILLAS's
WORK IN ANIMAL PROTECTION C.A.S.H. MEMBER AND ANIMAL PROTECTOR
EXTRAORDINAIRE
We asked Virginia if we could
write a brief biography of her animal work and she agreed. We just
regret not having more space to say it all. Virginia was first
made aware of the plight of animals by her parents. Later, she
witnessed cruelty and neglect as she began to visit shelters. As
a teenager, she dreamed of being rich and having many material
possessions, but quickly grew out of that as she put animals first.
She has never looked back nor regretted the many times when she
had to pawn valuables to pay for food for all the unwanted, abandoned
animals in distress. Although Virginia takes care of so many domestic
animals, she also wants to help wildlife. She’s aware of the
suffering of wild animals mainly through TV, and correspondence
with wildlife protection organizations. The walls of Virginia’s
room are covered with photos of wildlife, dogs, cats, people she
admires and loves, and scenes of places she says she’ll never
see. She said, "the room really belongs to the ‘castaways.’" Virginia
is writing a book about her life doing rescue and adoptions. If
you would like to correspond with Virginia, please privately e-mail
us.
Please let us know about your work – what
made you aware of wildlife, your early influences, and what you
would do to raise consciousness among those who are still unaware.
Kindly send a photograph by mail if you have one.
REMEMBERANCES AND THANK YOU'S
© We
deeply regret the passing of I.B. Sinclair. "Ben," as
his friends called him, and Luke Dommer, the founder of C.A.S.H. knew
each other well and appeared together on TV programs and other
interviews to try to protect Ridley Creek State Park in PA from
deer hunting. A quick check leads me to believe that it is still
off-limits to hunting! Ben kept his affiliation with C.A.S.H. after
Luke’s passing. He shared his list of friends with us, and
once ordered ten C.A.S.H. hats for friends he was taking on a hike
(perhaps a patrol). I was extremely moved when Ben called to tell
me that he was seriously ill and wanted to say "good-bye." He
arranged for a generous donation to be sent to C.A.S.H. Ben will
always be an important part of C.A.S.H.’s history. We will
miss Ben forever, he was one of the dedicated souls who makes this
movement so effective, and our prayer is that he and Luke are reunited
in spirit on another plane of existence. In our library, we treasure
the video tape of Ben and Luke in a debate over hunting at Ridley
Creek State Park. Please e-mail us if you would like a copy.
© We
are extremely saddened by the passing of Elizabeth Archer and
are grateful for her generous bequest to C.A.S.H.
© Thank
you to Jerry and Susan Bolick for their contribution in
memory of Janet Bolick
© Thank you to Mrs. Mike Sheedy for
her donation in memory of Virginia Anderson
