Speak out against the lake Sammamish goose kill

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BACKGROUND

According to news sources and furious Washington state residents, Lake Sammamish State Park recently authorized the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Wildlife Services to capture and kill almost 100 Canada geese who had called the area their home. Once the birds molted their flight feathers (and were thus unable to fly), they were reportedly rounded up, then forced into a gas chamber on a truck and gassed to death. The terror experienced by these sensitive beings during such “roundups” can only be horrific, and their babies are left entirely vulnerable when mothers are hauled away. These initiatives are not only extraordinarily cruel but also wholly ineffective, as more birds will simply move in to use available resources so long as the area remains attractive and accessible. In fact, reports indicate that this may already be happening. Your voice is needed!

Please urge Lake Sammamish State Park officials to forgo these devastating lethal initiatives in favor of tried and true humane goose–control methods. And please, forward this alert widely!

WHOM TO CONTACT

Rich Benson, Manager
Lake Sammamish State Park
richard.benson@parks.wa.gov

Andrew Fielding, Resource Steward l
Washington State Parks and Recreation Commission
andrew.fielding@parks.wa.gov

Don Hoch, Director
Washington State Parks and Recreation Commission
don.hoch@parks.wa.gov

SAMPLE LETTER

Dear Manager Benson, Resource Steward Fielding, and Director Hoch:

I am extremely alarmed to learn of Lake Sammamish State Park’s decision to cruelly massacre geese who reside in park areas via USDA agents. I respectfully request suspension of this violent strategy.

Please allow me to elaborate. First, killing geese does nothing to modify landscapes and waterways that attract them in the first place. I encourage officials to work with avian experts on population stabilization and site aversion.

Second, sweeping eradication does not reduce long-term growth. Killing geese artificially increases food supplies to the remaining geese, the consequence of which is increased reproduction and an ensuing greater population. In fact, studies have demonstrated that the continual cycle of seasonal eradication is responsible for a rebound, or larger gaggle populations, in subsequent years.

Third, using such barbaric strategies in such a visible location will most certainly affect visitation: agents typically enter the pond area during early morning, roughly separating goslings from parents, and then stuff the bound, panicked geese and babies into crates. Next, the geese are gassed or shot to death. In fact, although I do not currently reside near Lake Sammamish State Park, I would be unwilling to consider it, or a nearby location, for tourist purposes if this cull ensues.

Please practice compassion and integrity: let the geese live and institute responsible policies that promote respect and tolerance of wildlife, and commit to habitat/landscape modification as outlined in Friends of Animals’ Canada Goose Habitat Modification Manual (http://friendsofanimals.org/sites/default/files/Goose%20Habitat.pdf) in addition to instituting a formal clean-up plan for goose droppings in parks.

Thank you for taking the time to consider this urgent appeal.

NAME

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we are geese
and you humans
do not understand,
this is OUR,
not YOUR land!

Karen Lyons Kalmenson