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Westchester4Geese
Scarsdale plan to kill geese near library draws protest
By Julie Moran Alterio, Lohud.com, January 14, 2013 The end is near for the geese who flock around the pond near the
Scarsdale Public Library. The Village of Scarsdale, in response to complaints about befouled
benches and grass in the area, is working with the U.S. Department of
Agriculture to eliminate the geese by killing the birds and donating their
meat to a food bank. The adult geese will be captured during their molting period, and their
nests will be treated with corn oil to prevent eggs from hatching. Alfred A. Gatta, Scarsdale�s village manager, said earlier efforts to
deter the geese using a border collie and noisemakers didn�t work. �We�ve tried a number of different methods, and they were never
successful. We�ve back off four or five years ago, and the geese population
has multiplied. They leave their droppings everywhere,� Gatta said, adding:
�People can�t even walk on the grass. They can�t sit on the benches. They
can�t use the gazebo.� Scarsdale is following in the footsteps of Westchester County, which
worked with the USDA to eliminate 472 geese at Sprain Lake Golf Course last
summer. Just like then, Scarsdale�s plans are drawing criticism from animal
activists who say humane alternatives haven�t been explored. �There are so many (animal) advocates in Westchester. Contact us before
you discuss killing them,� said Kiley Blackman of Yonkers, a member of
Animal Defenders of Westchester. She credits public outcry at the goose kill last summer with the county�s
decision to purchase the �Goosinator� in the fall. The radio-controlled
artificial predator chases the geese off golf courses or other areas. Peter Tartaglia, deputy commissioner of the county parks department, said
he isn�t ruling out another culling of the birds if the population rises
sharply again. Less than 100 geese live at the golf course currently, a number small
enough to be daunted by the Goosinator. �The number was so high. The Goosinator couldn�t have accomplished
anything. Now that we have the number down, it�s residing at Sprain Lake,�
he said. The cost of the device, at about $3,000, is less than the $5,054 the
village has set aside for its program with the USDA. Gatta said that strategies that drive the geese off the park property are
only a partial solution because the birds don�t go far. �The largest problem is the droppings to into the water there and they
wash into the Bronx River, and you get a high fecal count in the Bronx River
and the state doesn�t like that at all,� Gatta said. Loraine J. Izzo of Bronxville, a volunteer wildlife rehabilitator, hopes
to contact Scardale�s leaders to figure out alternatives that don�t include
killing the birds. �I am appalled by the fact they want to do that,� she said. �There�s so
many of us who are willing to help Scarsdale at no cost to them.�
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