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FROM
Marc Bekoff, Psychology Today / Animal Emotions
July 7, 2019
When dogs become a "local problem," they're killed less frequently than geese.
Why geese matter
The mass killing of geese in Denver, Colorado, has attracted a lot of
attention from around the world, much to the surprise of many people who saw
the slaughter as more of a form of "a local problem and local execution," as
one person put it in an email to me. (See "Killing Denver's Sentient Geese
is Flawed in Many Ways" and "The Healing Power of Geese and Other Animals.")
I've had a good number of discussions with different people about the goose
problem in Denver and elsewhere, and some form of the following question has
come up a number of times: "Why do they kill 'problem' geese and not
'problem' dogs?" Basically, geese are killed because: (1) they're accused of
destroying various habitats, including parks, to which they're attracted;
(2) they like the food that's available there; (3) they used to feel safe in
these locations and choose to remain there; and (4) they poop too much.
The loss of geese has irritated a lot of local people who loved seeing
the geese and feeling like they were "out in nature" when they came to know
them as individuals. Some also found them to be emotional support animals.
(Also see "How Nature Awakens Our Creativity, Compassion, and Joy.") This
morning I received the following email: "It was with tremendous relief that
I read your article in psychology today regarding the latest goose killing
tragedy in Denver. It is wonderful to have such an educated and well spoken,
well respected individual who cares about this problem step out with
information and knowledge as to why this was so absolutely wrong. I have not
necessarily been an animal activist, but my heart is always with the
animals, and I donate to animal and wildlife organizations every year.
However, something about this goose killing hit me to the core. I felt naive
and in shock, literally I did not realize that something like this could
happen in our civilized society. I have experienced true grief and mourning
over this past week over the incident, and have had a difficult time
concentrating. It is getting better, but the depth of how this hit me was
intense, and unexpected...I am finding connections with some really amazing
people through this tragedy, so that is the light that I can grab on to."
I've been thinking a lot about why dogs, for example, are spared when they
become "neighborhood problem animals," and why other nonhuman animals
(animals) are routinely killed when they're perceived to be problem animals.
I know it has a lot to do with the special relationship that mainly homed
dogs have with many, but not all, people. (See "Are Dogs Really Our Best
Friends?") I've also been thinking a lot about how the basic principles of
compassionate conservation can be used to save geese and other animals who
typically are killed when some people don't want them around. I'm very
pleased to be a member of the governor-appointed Colorado People for Animal
Welfare panel (PAW), and I want to stress that I'm writing as an individual
and do not speak for the panel as a whole. (See "Colorado Takes the Lead on
Helping Animals and People" and "Colorado Proclaims Statewide Annual Animal
Welfare Day.")
Speciesism doesn't work
Killing geese, but not dogs, is a form of speciesism. Speciesism "is a form
of discrimination based on species membership. It involves treating members
of one species as morally more important than members of other species, even
when their interests are equivalent. More precisely, speciesism is the
failure to consider interests of equal strength to an equal extent because
of the species of which the individuals are a member." So, using dogs and
geese as examples, dogs are usually seen as being smart and emotional, and
most people get very upset when they hear about the abuse of dogs. (See
Canine Confidential, Unleashing Your Dog, and many essays here.) Geese, on
the other hand, all too often are mistakenly taken to be dumb and
unemotional, so their loss by whatever means doesn't cause many people to
lose much sleep. The same can be said for numerous other nonhumans who
people write off as being "not so smart" or having no emotional lives,
including the capacities to feel pain and to suffer physically or
psychologically. (See The Animals' Agenda: Freedom, Compassion, and
Coexistence in the Human Age and numerous essays here.)
Speciesism also ignores individual differences among members of the same
species, and it's well known that there are large within-species differences
among dogs, geese, and many other animals. Viewing all members of the same
species as being the same is fraught with error. (See "Individual Animals
Count: Speciesism Doesn't Work.") It's wrong to think that just because
you've seen one dog or goose, you've seen them all. There's no "universal
dog" or "universal goose." Each individual is unique, each has a unique
personality, and all individuals want to live in peace and safety.
These "dumbing-down" stereotypes also misrepresent who geese and many other animals truly are. Geese, in fact, are rather intelligent and highly emotional. When they're rounded up and killed, families and friendships are broken up, and there's no doubt that they miss their relatives and friends. (See "Papa Goose: A Real Life "Fly Away Home" With Feisty Goslings.") In a previous essay, I wrote about grieving geese who show all the symptoms that have been described in grieving young human children by renowned developmental psychologist, John Bowlby.
Wildlife writer Mary Lou Simms, who also studies geese and has written about their emotional lives, sent me two stories that also show the richness and depth of their psychological states (email, July 6, 2019). She wrote:
"I finally got a chance to read your essay and thought there were some
good points, especially the part about how people don't think about how such
roundups affect those who enjoy geese. Many people have told me they
couldn't go back to a park where geese had been rounded up, it was so
painful. I remember when my mother died, Zoey was the only one who could
console me. She would bring the goslings to me and force them to sit with me
for long stretches; her mate too. She couldn't know what was wrong but she
knew something was wrong. I used to laugh, she would swim over to where I
was onshore and make the goslings sit in the water. After a while, I could
tell they were getting antsy (why can't we swim, why can't we swim) but she
would make them stay anyway."
"Another time, I was attacked by a teenager from a small forest. I screamed,
hoping someone nearby would hear. I needn't have worried. My study group was
sunning itself on a sandbar, and when they heard me scream, they flew over
en masse, all 20 of them. They didn't even stop to think; they just reacted.
Would they have attacked him? I don't know. He vanished as soon as he saw
them about to land. I was stunned by their efforts, and extremely humbled.
They were also quite pleased with themselves, cooing to one another, over
their effort. I thanked them profusely."
Ms. Simms' stories remind me of many others I've heard about geese, other birds, and other nonhumans who are casually written off as being non-feeling objects. Clearly, they're not. All in all, rounding up geese and sending them to slaughter is reprehensible and should never be done.
Compassionate conservation
Compassionate conservation is a rapidly growing global and interdisciplinary
branch of conservation science. (See "Compassionate Conservation Meets
Conservation Psychology," "Compassionate Conservation Matures and Comes of
Age," and references therein.) Compassionate conservation centers on four
guiding principles, namely: First Do No harm, Individuals Matter, Valuing
All Wildlife, and Peaceful Coexistence.
Killing geese and other animals clearly violates these principles. Simply
put, conservation is a moral pursuit and demands clear ethical guidelines.
All individuals count and compassionate conservation doesn't allow for
people to play what I call the "numbers game." Claims that go something
like, "There are so many members of a given species, for example, geese,
it's okay to kill other members of the same species." With its focus on the
value of the life of each and every individual, no single animal is
disposable, because there are many more like them. Their lives matter,
because they are alive; each individual has inherent or intrinsic value.
They're valued for who they are, not for what they can do for us. They
matter because they exist. Along these lines, in a conversation I overheard
at a coffee house a few months ago, a young girl said, "I love my dog,
because she is." This is spot on. (See "Why Dogs Matter.") I can't imagine
that any human or nonhuman would agree to be harmed and killed because there
are many others just like them.
Where to from here? Compassionate conservation at work
Clearly, geese and other animals would benefit from being treated with a
healthy dose of compassionate conservation. Conservation projects in which
compassionate conservation is put to work can produce wonderful results
without killing other animals. (See "Summoning compassion to address the
challenges of conservation" for a detailed review of this field.) There are
many humane and non-lethal ways to deal with animal-human conflicts when
they arise. And, considering dogs and geese, for example, Denver, along with
many other locales, has a "dog poop problem," however, killing the dogs
isn't on the menu of options, and of course, it shouldn't be. (See "Careless
pet owners costing Colorado parks, volunteers money and time to clean up
waste.") There's a lot of dog poop globally--indeed, it's been called an
"Environmental Tragedy"--especially when one considers that it's been
estimated that approximately 80-85% of dogs in the world are pretty much on
their own or totally on their own. (See "As Dogs Go Wild in a World Without
Us, How Might They Cope?") That's around 800 million dogs. Those figures
usually come as a shock to many people whose only exposure is to "homed"
dogs.
Focusing on geese for the moment, there are humane and non-lethal ways to
handle the conflicts about which some, but surely not all people, are
concerned. Just today I received this email: "I was a member of 'Save the
Geese' in Scotia, NY, starting 2006 to around 2011. We used yelling, kayaks,
trained border collies (leased in the beginning) and a motorboat along with
oiling eggs to keep geese from Collins Park in Scotia, Central NYS. It
worked, and the village supported us when they saw we were successful. An
agreement to keep numbers at 30 or below was made with the village. It was
done, and as far as I know (our group disbanded), the village has hired a
professional "hazer" that keeps geese in the fields and Mohawk River area.
As it turned out, the 'contamination' in the water was human-caused, not a
wildlife strain of bacteria." (My emphasis)
I also learned about another viable option. In response to a previous essay,
someone wrote me about some new innovative non-lethal technology that can be
used to keep geese away. (See "Babylon Village geese-removal tool puts fake
bird of prey in the air.") I've also been told that the USDA knows about it
and hasn't tried to use it. Someone pointed out to me that the geese from
one location might simply fly to another and become someone else's problem.
I recognize that this could happen, but when people communicate with one
another, as many have with me, non-lethal solutions can spread among
different communities. As someone wrote to me, "At least this will stop the
killing in one location, and others can also adopt them."
All in all, Denver's program of wantonly killing geese has many flaws in
biological and ethical arenas, as do numerous other similar projects. Some
of those who are responsible for the killing spree have conveniently washed
their hands of thinking about what happens to the geese after they're
rounded up and killed, deception and obfuscation, rather than transparency,
has been all too prevalent, and the killing will result in annual bloodbaths
because killing the geese is merely a short-term "feel good" solution for
many of those who favor it. All in all, the round-up and slaughter of geese
are biologically and ethically unsound and must be carefully scrutinized and
openly discussed. It's high time to stop them before more lives are taken.
Stay tuned for more discussions about animal-human conflicts, the errors
associated with thinking just because you've seen one dog or goose, you've
seen them all, and how we can come to peacefully coexist with other animals
who also need to find safe places in which to live and thrive on a
human-dominated planet. We're here, there, and everywhere, and all animals,
nonhuman and human, suffer and die because of our omnipresence. It's banal
to say that in many cases, and some might say in all situations, we're
really the problem. However, it's the nonhumans who have to work incredibly
hard to try to adapt to our presence. Unfortunately, each year billions of
nonhumans can't make it in a human world in which they're subjected to all
sorts of violence.
It's not easy to digest what's going on. However, that's really what's
happening and we need to change our ways right now, because so many of the
losses that are occurring globally are irreversible, and there is
incalculable pain, suffering, and death for which we're responsible. The
Anthropocene, often called "The Age of Humanity," is really "The Rage of
Inhumanity." (See "New Chimpanzee Culture Discovered, Others Lost Due to
Humans" and "Anthrozoology: Embracing Co-existence in the Anthropocene.")
We must do better for future generations who will inherit the messes we
leave them. Surely we can do much better for them, for us, and for all other
animals. They depend on us for our goodwill, and it'll be a win-win for all.
Note: The people running the program also claim that the meat from the geese
who are killed will be fed to needy people. There's a lot of skepticism
about this claim, and as I was completing this essay, I was told that the
permit to kill the geese says the meat is designated only for wildlife, and
there is no mention of it being used for human consumption. This is
consistent with the image to the left, other news reports, and also has been
confirmed by other people who have communicated with city officials. There
are major concerns with what the geese have eaten, including pesticides and
other poisonous matter that might be contained in their meat. Of course,
nonhumans could also suffer from ingesting the meat of the slaughtered
geese, and it's not clear that the meat is okay to give to them.
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