Althouse: "Stop the carnage in our parks."

July 13, 2011

"Stop the carnage in our parks."

A Wisconsin protest I missed: against the killing of the Canada geese that have been pooping up the city.

46 comments:

chickelit said...: Why not allow a hunting season on geese? It's called effective wildlife management.

I snapped this photo of a photo at a hunter safety course I took last weekend with my son. It depicts the wholesale market hunting (slaughter) of geese in 1914: link and was used as an example of bad resource management (conservation).; 7/13/11, 10:37 PM
edutcher said...: Well, you can't be all things to all protests. Until Meade gets that time-space continuum warp thing working, he can only be in one place at a time.; 7/13/11, 10:49 PM
traditionalguy said...: Geese hunting should require a permit allowing each hunter to take only 2,000 geese per month.

See, now we are being reasonable.

Do these moralists want to outlaw Thanksgiving dinner too?; 7/13/11, 10:50 PM
chickelit said...: Seriously, if a biologist determined that the natural carrying capacity of the environment were stressed, it's unfair to other species to let the geese overpopulate like that. In fact it's unethical and borders on mismanagement.; 7/13/11, 10:54 PM
chickelit said...: @Althouse: Don't you think it would be manly of Meade to bag a couple of geese for dinner? (Legally of course). Eurotrash eat them.

Or would his goose be cooked if pulled a stunt like that?; 7/13/11, 10:58 PM
bagoh20 said...: What's difference between what the geese are doing and what the leftist protesters have been doing for months?

At least the geese are attractive and appreciate freedom...and do the geese also shit on the people who feed them?; 7/13/11, 11:07 PM
Titus said...: I love Philip Glass music.; 7/13/11, 11:12 PM
Anonymous said...: The protest culture seems very active there. In fact, endless. Non-stop free entertainment!; 7/13/11, 11:14 PM
bagoh20 said...: "The protest culture seems very active there. In fact, endless. Non-stop free entertainment!"

Like masturbation, but less productive.; 7/13/11, 11:24 PM
The Crack Emcee said...: "Stop the carnage in our parks."

Carnage?

Oh, go join PETA.; 7/13/11, 11:29 PM
jeff said...: Yes, Stop the carnage in our parks!! When do they have the protest for killing pigeons? Or the one for killing rats? Stop the carnage of killing cockroaches!!! So where do you people find the time to protest all this stuff?; 7/13/11, 11:42 PM
Justin said...: Seriously? The end of the underlying article reads like something out of the Onion. "Plight of the Canada Geese"? Hilarious.; 7/13/11, 11:47 PM
traditionalguy said...: They could recycle these protest signs for the NOW protests.

The word Parks can be written over as Courts.

That would help end waste, littering and money spent on new signs.; 7/14/11, 12:01 AM
MadisonMan said...: The people protesting should play soccer in Vilas Park in October. They will quickly change their minds.

Today I learned that Pennsylvania has a 4.5% inheritance tax for items that transfer from parent to child, so the State is $26000 richer. I am so happy they will be spending that windfall wisely.; 7/14/11, 12:20 AM
Fred4Pres said...: Will the madness never stop there?

Wisconsin Madness = Canada Goose Poop; 7/14/11, 1:35 AM
Lem Vibe Bandit said...: The left, once again putting our country second and the foreign invaders first ;); 7/14/11, 2:04 AM
Fred4Pres said...: Titus--come on, you never just put on a Philip Glass (or John Cage) track on your ipod. You're listening to Justin Beiber.

Just admit it.; 7/14/11, 2:08 AM
Corky Boyd said...: This comment has been removed by the author.; 7/14/11, 2:49 AM
Corky Boyd said...: The Parks commission should ask the protesting group to remove the goose poop. Either that or ask them to humanely remove the geese.

When I lived in Montgomery Co. MD, a liberal stronghold, we had a problem with geese in our community lake. The geese became a pain in the tail, literally. One in particular had learned the avian art of "goosing." After the offended ladies complained to the homeowners association, a group did the humane thing. They netted all 4, put them in cages and drove them 60 miles to the west, where they released them. But they neglected to take into account the excellent homing insticts of geese.

By the time they returned home, the offending geese were back at the lake, fat dumb and happy.

Subsequently sterner and more permenant methods were used to solve the problem; 7/14/11, 2:53 AM
AST said...: This is what supporting Ducks Unlimited has done. Them and the Audubon Society.

Aren't you lucky to live in this great center of learning that lets you wade through goose dung to appreciate nature? You have to be well educated to be this lacking in common sense.; 7/14/11, 3:11 AM
OneLifeLiveIt said...: If you look at the map on this link you will see that we get them way down here....in NZ though I think they were introduced rather than migrated http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Branta_canadensis_map.png; 7/14/11, 5:37 AM
Shouting Thomas said...: We have our share of super sensitive folks in Woodstock, too.

We live in a forest. The forest has to be trimmed back away from the electrical lines every year, so that we can continue to have lights.

Every year we have protests over this wicked treatment of the trees and bushes. Really.; 7/14/11, 6:25 AM
Triangle Man said...: Ducks Unlimited and Audubon are not exactly birds of a feather.; 7/14/11, 6:30 AM
Lem Vibe Bandit said...: I'm looking at a schedule that says Obama starts working at 10:00 AM.

Is that right? (at the right of this page); 7/14/11, 6:37 AM
Big Mike said...: I don't imagine that it would have been hard to arrange a counter-protest that was substantially larger than "around a dozen."; 7/14/11, 7:00 AM
Lem Vibe Bandit said...: Meet Obamas appetite.

When you raise a ceiling over and over aren't there structural foundation, wind limits that when reached could threaten to topple the structure?

Maybe Obama should stop using the "ceiling" metaphor. People seem to have an intuitive sense that you just cant keep raising a ceiling.

Thank the almighty for that. (don't want to run afoul of the Althouse/God clause ;); 7/14/11, 7:02 AM
Jamieson said...: I thought the "memorial service for geese" story was from the Onion, but no, it's real and it's from Madison.; 7/14/11, 7:09 AM
Curious George said...: Hunting won't work, these geese are permanent to the parks. And Madisonians of course are against guns. I have the answer to the problem:

Hasta la vista Geese!

The Big Unit is done, but we could make this Roger Clemens' upcoming "community service" requirement.; 7/14/11, 7:15 AM
gerry said...: “We apologize to our creator for taking the lives of these precious beings,” said Kathie Free of Madison, a retired social worker.

Brain dead, body still spewing nonsense.; 7/14/11, 7:20 AM
Lem Vibe Bandit said...: You could say the deck is staked against raising the ceiling metaphor.

I would not be surprised if someone smarter than me has already made the point.; 7/14/11, 7:25 AM
Lem Vibe Bandit said...: Sometime back Althouse mentioned that she has a tendency to visualise metaphors.. So that got to thinking about this raising ceiling business.; 7/14/11, 7:37 AM
virgil xenophon said...: "Like masturbation but less productive."

LOL--TOO funny, bagoh20..; 7/14/11, 7:54 AM
Wince said...: This comment has been removed by the author.; 7/14/11, 8:15 AM
Smith said...: Border Collie, Australian Shepherd, allow them loose for an hour a day no blood no fearhers. just an hour of fun viewing and the geese go elsewhwere. My dogs actually have a job at a local golf course. TSA for geese, only my guys are effective.; 7/14/11, 8:19 AM
Wince said...: Moe's got a solution for those who miss seeing the geese.

"Look at the grouse."; 7/14/11, 8:27 AM
The Dude said...: My Border Collie would have a blast herding those feathered vermin. The city could charge dog owners for the opportunity. Win win!

My Lab, however, would kill them to the last goose. Also a win, but only for the dog.; 7/14/11, 8:37 AM
TosaGuy said...: Bit off topic, but Milwaukee TV news ran a story on the results of Governor Walker's changes and budget; 7/14/11, 8:49 AM
Henry said...: There was a big deer kill on the Maine Island where my parents live about a decade back. The city hired professional hunters to do it in the off season. The hunters just set out salt licks and waited behind blinds. The city donated the venison to the local food pantry. Every few year they bring the hunters back to keep the numbers down.

It took about five years of argument between the pro-cull faction, the anti-cull faction, and the city to make the deer kill happen. All which time the deer kept reproducing and kept eating.; 7/14/11, 9:09 AM
chickelit said...: Curious George said...
Hunting won't work, these geese are permanent to the parks. And Madisonians of course are against guns...

Forget the anti-gun part for moment. Look at the problem fiscally. The City presumably pays wardens to remove excess geese from the system. In a hunter management scenario, private citizens pay money for the privilege of doing the same. The whole operation is still overseen by DNR personnel. The hunt can be weapons appropriate and need not endanger any other species (except their pride).; 7/14/11, 9:12 AM
SGT Ted said...: As long as the geese are being eaten, I see no down side to this.

MadisonMan: The state reaching into a dead guys pocket for one more wallet raid just says it all doesn't it?; 7/14/11, 9:16 AM
Curious George said...: chickenlittle said...
Curious George said...
Hunting won't work, these geese are permanent to the parks. And Madisonians of course are against guns...

Forget the anti-gun part for moment. Look at the problem fiscally. The City presumably pays wardens to remove excess geese from the system. In a hunter management scenario, private citizens pay money for the privilege of doing the same. The whole operation is still overseen by DNR personnel. The hunt can be weapons appropriate and need not endanger any other species (except their pride).

I posted a link to Randy Johnson killing a bird with a fastball as a joke, but it's a more sensible solution to the problem than this.; 7/14/11, 9:33 AM
chickelit said...: I posted a link to Randy Johnson killing a bird with a fastball as a joke, but it's a more sensible solution to the problem than this.

Why exactly is that better than a controlled hunt. My sarcasm meter fell into a chasm today.; 7/14/11, 10:29 AM
gerry said...: I posted a link to Randy Johnson killing a bird with a fastball as a joke, but it's a more sensible solution to the problem than this.

That would be OK, as long as the kills would be quick and sure.

In some cities, police marksman are paid to cull the deer herd in a big cemeteries at night. It protects expensive landscaping.

Hunting deer in a cemetery at night. Cool, eh?; 7/14/11, 11:18 AM
chickelit said...: That would be OK, as long as the kills would be quick and sure.

I assumed that in hunting scenario. That's just humane. It's also best if people eat what they kill which is more likely with a paying public than a public servant.
_____________
wv = "hydra" That's one beast I'd love to slay.; 7/14/11, 12:31 PM
Anonymous said...: A local golf course had a bunch of Geese killed. We were ticked that they, allegedly, piled the birds up and let them go to waste. Adjacent to the course is a public hunting area; which many of us hunt. We would have been more than happy to harvest and eat the Geese. We make Tourtiere (French Canadian) meat pies with the Goose burger along with pork. We prefer them taste of them with the Goose meat blend. Bacon wrapped Goose soaked in Chipotle marinade and grilled rock too.

Mr Facebook guy says he only wants to eat meat he kills himself. Let us show you the way it is done brother hunter.....; 7/14/11, 12:42 PM
gadfly said...: Can we expect our Madison Goosebumpers to attend to the explosions that will reign at Horicon Marsh during the Million Canadian Fly-Away this fall?

'course the DNR and the bird people could simply let the geese become infected and die in the marsh.; 7/14/11, 8:44 PM