From "Finland’s Short, Precious Summers Are Plagued by Goose Poop/Finns trying to enjoy beaches and parks during their all-too-brief summers have been vexed by legions of geese — and their droppings. The smelly mess has resisted even the most innovative solutions" (NYT).
In recent years, Canadians have tried to relocate the geese, New Yorkers hired a patrol dog and Californians moved to cull them. But Finland does not allow culling, and hunting geese in urban Helsinki would not be a feasible option anyway.
Solution: allow culling. If California is doing it, how unempathetic can it be? From the link on "cull them":
[Foster City] has applied for federal permits that would allow it to cull its goose population. (A common method involves euthanizing the birds in a portable gas chamber.) Ms. Awasthi, the mayor, emphasized that the city had not made a final decision about whether to cull the birds, or what method it might use. One challenge is that while culling the birds instantly reduces their number, populations often recover quickly if there are more geese nearby....
So gas chambers all around?
The discussion has upset some Foster City residents, like Michael Schultz, 37, an accountant. “It seems really inconsistent with California and Bay Area values,” he said in an interview, adding: “Is this really necessary?”...
Sigh. If rats were causing an equivalent problem, people would be crying out for poisoning the rats and wouldn't even discuss the pain rodenticide inflicts on the rat. But with birds, euthanasia —gentle death — offends our values. We humans are much more closely related to the rat, but birds have their compelling mystique. What accounts for their hold on the human mind?
ADDED: I submitted that last paragraph to Grok. From the answer:
Watching birds in flight or at rest often evokes a sense of awe and humility... This "avian illumination" is... reflected in literature from ancient poets like Homer to modern writers.... Birds, with their vibrant colors... dynamic behaviors, and visibility in open spaces, are particularly rewarding to watch. Evolutionary theories like ecological valence suggest we prefer vivid, rare features (e.g., elongated crests, multicolored plumage) because they signal novelty and genetic diversity, maintaining our interest through "negative frequency-dependent selection."... Across cultures, birds hold elevated status in myths, art, and folklore, often representing positive ideals that embed them deeply in the human psyche. They symbolize freedom (due to flight), peace (doves), wisdom (owls), or divine messengers (eagles in heraldry or angels as human-avian hybrids)....
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77 komento:
The Beatles line is a pretty good turn of phrase.
Only Paul was barefoot.
Baby diapers are the perfect size.
Roast goose.
There are philosophers out there who ponder the moral significance of non-human pain, including the pain of the trillions of insects that will die today. As soon as I start to allow myself to seriously entertain the notion that insect pain deserves concern analogous to human pain, I find myself inclining to the view that human pain is morally inconsequential. That thought's obvious error yanks me back to the conclusion that I should only worry about pain in beings for whom I feel instinctive empathy. To hell with a grand philosophical justification.
Haitians would take care of this.
It's truly wasteful to not eat them.
They are good for feeding poor people.
Problem solved.
SUCH a good point, Dogma. Don't they have fact-checkers over there?
Never occurs to the eggheads at the NY Times to just eat the geese. God is great. He has provided a bounty. And these idiots who are swimming in the kiddie part of the gene pool cannot figure it out.
the problem is they are not good eats.
other than the young - adult geese do not have many or any predators who will eat them.
Sadly - culling is the only real solution.
If they were even a little delicious - we'd all be eating Canadian Geese.
I was going to say, let in the Haitians, but I see someone beat me to it. But that's the solution. Give the vegans a deadline to clean up the poop, and if there's any left over: Haitians.
Or send all the geese to San Francisco, to add to the street poop diversity.
I had a laugh at the term JAYwalk being used about other birds.
They should get a bunch of these to help with the problem
https://www.amazon.com/Mark-Propane-Bird-Scare-Cannon/dp/B08LY4TSQM
Spoiler...of course they won't and the people in towns would (very rightly ) object to the noise. We hear them all the time from our deck when the farmers are protecting their crops (wild rice mostly) from seasonal depredation by thousands of geese, ducks and blackbirds. Boom...Booom.....BOOOOM
Actually, dogs that chase/scare the birds would be the best solution at the beaches and parks....plus fun to watch!!!
The Finns used to be tough. They held off the Russians with astonishing violence for months when Stalin expected a two-day walkover. Now they're ruled by pussies who'd embassass even Gavin Newsom.
Dominate or be dominated. Grow a pair or stop complaining.
Around here, it seems that an increase in coyote population has directly correlated to a big decrease in the goose population. Geese don’t appear to be as devious as roadrunners.
Just shoot a couple. The rest will learn the lesson. And yes, we do love birds, and are in awe of their ability to fly. But that doesn't stop us from having roast chicken and goose.
Patrol dogs are also a possibility. But they'd need a quite a few for Helsinki.
Peachy said: the problem is they are not good eats.
This is very true (personal experience). Tough. Not tasty like domestic goose. Difficult and no fun to prepare (gut, clean, pluck or skin, dismember) and cook.
The Finns need more wind turbines on their beaches.
Duh.
I don't hate the goose. The goose is just living his life and swaggering around. The goose is also cute. But he has to poop. A lot.
We can't live our lives if we have too many geese. We can't live with so much goose poop. Its us or them.
Foie gras
"hunting geese in urban Helsinki would not be a feasible option anyway."
Wanna bet?
...swagger through crosswalks barefoot like the Beatles...
Do geese normally wear shoes?
DBQ - exactly.
Plus - if they did taste good - we'd see Canadian Geese on menus and in stores, ready to take home and cook, sold under plastic wrap.
feed to the poor? Yeah - no. Exactly no one will kill and prepare, and exactly no one will eat it.
Foir gras? Again these are not tasty French geese. They are evil Canadian geese. Think - if Castro's son were a big greasy yucky bird.
Tough. Not tasty like domestic goose. Difficult and no fun to prepare (gut, clean, pluck or skin, dismember) and cook.
There are ways around that.
Duck, Duck, Goose: The Ultimate Guide to Cooking Waterfowl, Both Farmed and Wild
The smelly mess has resisted even the most innovative solutions..
Goose is NOT very good eating, but it IS food.
allow a 12 month OPEN SEASON on geese in your town..
and GUESS WHAT? The geese will move on down the road
I bet some hunters would do it for sport.
again, don't "cull them", with "gas chambers"..
BLOW THEM OUT OF THE SKY with shotguns..
let them hear the news, and they'll LEAVE
Ocean: "We can't live with so much goose poop. Its us or them."
The theme song for this movement can be the Beach Boys classic, "Little Goose Poop."
Tip your waitress and try the foie gras.
RR
JSM
Easy fix. Coyotes.
Eagles, too.
Now, do deer.
Hassayamper: there are ways around that....meaning cooking wild goose.
Don't I know! It can be done. Wild game doesn't have the fat that domestic does. But .... I've made.... Goose Stew and dumplings. Goose Breast filleted and pound the living heck out if it to tenderize. Cook like a Chinese stir fry (baking soda to further tenderize) or braised ala Coq au Vin. Slow cook, debone and chop meat...goose pot pie. Last resort Goose Breast Jerky.
I did a double take the first time I saw Canada Geese in New Zealand. But yes, somebody introduced them.
Maybe the moas will cull them.
Some years ago, Ithaca, NY, had a similar problem with deer, which are even cuter than geese. So their solution was capturing does and having their tubes tied. Worked about as well as anyone but professors at Ivy League schools would expect. Then Cornell tried it too. Didn't work any better.
The bird is a "burden".
T J Sawyer said...
Eagles, too.
Based upon 90 seconds of Chatbot research, I say release hordes of rats, snakes and wolves. That will fix your problem at the beach.
Canada Goose tastes like a quality beefsteak if chef knows what he’s doing but to each his own. Shoot them in the goose commuter path outside Helsinki you government subsidized Scandinavian drunks…outside that border collies like to chase the geese and the geese don’t have to die…
Well, it is hard to get shoes that fit goose feet ...
A local development figured out how to keep geese away from its artificial pond. They put artificial swans in the pond -- and presto! No more geese. I was surprised to see geese still in the back streets, but at least they aren't pooping out front.
What a shitshow
Dog food?
It’s the little goose poop. We don’t want what they got…
I like it, John Mosby!
We goose steppin’… we goose steppin’…
Here's a little something for you goose haters.
Yeah, I laughed. Tough birds.
Forget about eating the geese, eat the eggs. Harvesting them will take bravery (and armor), but that will lead to an eventual population decline.
deer - or venison - that's good eats. well - the one time I tried it.
It was so fine. Thank you deer - for your good eats.
Rabel - holy cow. Those are some hearty babies.
Duck, duck, ... goose!
You can also kill the eggs by spraying them with cooking spray. The birds will not know that the eggs are dead and will continue to incubate them. This can greatly reduce the season's new population of geese.
Best way is to have the fire dept spray them with soapy water. It takes the oil out of their feathers and they freeze at night. Works for pigeons too. A lot of golf courses do this.
“ I say release hordes of rats, snakes and wolves.”
That would take care of the goose problem but wouldn’t we then have a rat, snake and wolf problem?
In high school, we lived on a small lake in Mass. The geese were a huge problem at the beach and many people's lawns. It is, or course illegal to shoot them, but one homeowner received a special permit to kill two, in the hopes of driving them off. It didn't work. The permit was for a specific period of time, and, of course, no geese were seen then. I understand that homeowner got in some trouble for killing one with an air rifle. There's a lot of geese lovers out there.
“It seems really inconsistent with California and Bay Area values...” Anyone who has had to step over excrement on SF streets realizes that California and Bay Area values are not that valuable.
re-introducing stuff does not always work.
Polis and his husband thought it would be a good idea to reintroduce wolves to Colorado. Many of the wolves are dying for various reasons.
Meade said... "That would take care of the goose problem but wouldn’t we then have a rat, snake and wolf problem?"
My understanding is that that problem can be addressed by the release of wildcats and cougars.
The Finns just need to release an army of skunks to eat the goose eggs before they hatch. The skunks will also keep the people away, solving the problem from both ends.
The best job in the world for a dog is chasing geese off golf courses.
I also think that foxes would reduce the population by eating the eggs.
We had a young fox on a local golf course who would run out of the woods and pick up golf balls on the fairways. He had a big pile of golf balls in the woods. Free drop in the approximate spot. I am pretty sure he thought they were goose eggs.
My wife knows how to cook goose breast that looks and tastes like good beef, using sous vide.
The first time she made it I had covid, and was taking paxlovid (sp?) which made everything taste bad. I took one bite and nearly threw up--it tasted like a bad oyster. She was annoyed.
It was a while before she made it again. I had to overcome a very strong automatic revulsion to even try it--but it was good.
“ We humans are much more closely related to the rat, but birds have their compelling mystique. What accounts for their hold on the human mind?”
Yes, that’s the problem. Bird mystique. We need something that can out-mystique them. Foxes!
You should see what they do to golf course lawnmowing equipment. In these parts some golf courses get depredation permits and they put the shotguns in the golf club bags.
I'm pretty sure I don't want to see what they do to golf course lawnmowing equipment.
Pay teenagers a per egg bounty.
"So gas chambers all around?"
Really? This can't be welcomed by the new 'abundance democrats." Much better: invite all the local Cantonese chefs to have at it -- no point in letter all that tasty protein go to waste.
Oakland, Lake Merritt. Nothing new, geese are awful except for eating. They do not make good pets.
My main encounter with Canadian geese was on a visit to Put-in-Bay, Ohio, on Lake Erie. The Perry's Victory and International Peace Memorial area held a swarm of incontinent geese, and the concrete paths around the monument were covered in grass-studded goose poop. It required quite a bit of caution while walking.
A few years ago I was plagued by a large flock of geese, so I shot one. They all left and never came back.
Soccer and football fields struggle to deal with the winged unshod poopers.
To clear a field of inconvenient, forward-looking poopers,
Planned Pooperhood is an immediate and final solution.
“It seems really inconsistent with California and Bay Area values,” he said in an interview..."
I have family and friends in California and I'm here to tell you that while it may be a Bay Area value, crapping all over the place in public is not acceptable everywhere in the state.
In some parts of the world it is the citizens that shit on the beach.
What? Not good to eat? I can attest to the fact that Canada Goose is indeed delicious. But it's wild game, not nearly so fatty as domestic goose and must be cooked properly. Fortunately, great recipes are easy to find. We have become far, far too removed from our connection with nature.
If a goose impacts a jetliner cruising, at, say, 400 knots, the resulting "paté" is known in the aviation community as "snarge".
The more you know...
I'm not a big goose hunter, but with one I shot we smoked the breasts. Sandwiches made with thin slices of the smoked meat on sourdough bread was absolutely define. City slickers, my oh my.
A couple of days ago there was a video making the rounds on social media of some migrants in the UK carrying a dead Canada goose down an apartment house hallway. Maybe Starmer is encouraging a solution.
At some point in my lifetime, Canada geese stopped being migratory in my area and became a year-round presence, much to the chagrin of the local golf course and cemetery managers. The coverage of fresh goose poop in the cemetery where my parents are buried is truly amazing. It is a serious deterrent to visiting.
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