Merciless Slaughter of Thousands of Canada Geese
Press Release
"The clubbing to death of 12,000 Canada Geese is nothing short of barbaric and a sad day for wildlife management in New
Zealand" says Lyn MacDonald, Centre Manager for the New Zealand Bird Rescue Trust.
Ms McDonald sees a lot of ducks and geese who come into the centre and "let me assure you, they feel pain and fear just
as any animal would.
This DOC funded operation of rounding up thousands of birds and mercilessly and shamefully clubbing them to death is
appalling.
It is behaviour, worthy of the dark ages and no way to manage wildlife in the 21st century. What does it say about us,
resorting to such methods. What does it do to the farmers who had to carry it out? There are more humane methods
available to solve the problem - even paying vets to put them down humanely would have been better.
What about giving unemployed people the job of collecting their eggs to keep a lid on numbers? Creating more man-made
bodies of water where they can gather, investing in custom-made sweepers to remove dung from pastures, using life-like
mechanical eagles that tap into their fear of aerial predators are all alternative methods of positive animal
management.
The Canada goose is a majestic, intelligent bird, loyal to its mate and offspring, and this behaviour should definitely
be inscribed in the Animal Management Hall of Shame".
ENDS