Hi all,
I usually don't go in for this sort of thing but it is happening in my own backyard and I am following my intuition on it by coming here.
About 2 weeks ago the news here in NYC began covering the story of NYC's decision to cull geese here in NYC. In part, this is a reaction to the plane that was hit by a bird strike this past winter -the story had a lucky and happy ending in that the pilot was able to land the plane in the river and all survived. The recent story began with a release of tests (DNA tests done on the bird remains from the plane engine that somehow involved traces of something in their feathers I believe ) that indicated the geese were not native to NY but where migratory. Shortly after that story came the news of the decision to cull. (I am new to this but cull seems to be another word for kill and since I want to try and be fair I am not going to throw the word "kill" around carelessly) The original story was for 2,000 geese to be collected now, during their molting season, when they can't fly. They would be taken and gassed. The plan also called for some additional training at NYC airports and the hiring of staff. The Humane Society Of The United States came out against the plan, saying culling would not solve the problem and they outlined what needed to be done : make areas inhospitable, use various methods to ward geese off and so forth.
I could write about my reaction to all of this but rather than do that I'll say one word:ahimsa-and add that we live in a interconnected world and that requires thoughtful ,long term solutions . I came across a petition to protest this action and signed it & I'd like to invite folks to add their names and comments if they feel moved to do so(& pass it on to others) . I imagine a community like this one has many great ideas and some of you have expertise & personal interest in this area .
I'll add 2 other thoughts:
1. We have a great luxury. We can come up with ideas , study things and create wonderful solutions . Animals (and plants, the sea and the rest of the natural world in which we live and on which we depend ) have not got that luxury. Mankind's actions are currently determining so much & our impact is so overwhelming that I would think we would be better than this type of thing.
2. "We can judge the heart of a man by his treatment of animals" Immanual Kant / "The greatness of a nation and its moral progress can be judged by the way its animals are treated" Mahatma Gandhi
You can find the petition here:
http://www.thepetitionsite.com/1/stop-nys-goose-gassing-plan
It goes without saying that I thank you all. It would be nice to think we could make a difference, save some lives and be part of a productive & wise solution.
Gina
I usually don't go in for this sort of thing but it is happening in my own backyard and I am following my intuition on it by coming here.
About 2 weeks ago the news here in NYC began covering the story of NYC's decision to cull geese here in NYC. In part, this is a reaction to the plane that was hit by a bird strike this past winter -the story had a lucky and happy ending in that the pilot was able to land the plane in the river and all survived. The recent story began with a release of tests (DNA tests done on the bird remains from the plane engine that somehow involved traces of something in their feathers I believe ) that indicated the geese were not native to NY but where migratory. Shortly after that story came the news of the decision to cull. (I am new to this but cull seems to be another word for kill and since I want to try and be fair I am not going to throw the word "kill" around carelessly) The original story was for 2,000 geese to be collected now, during their molting season, when they can't fly. They would be taken and gassed. The plan also called for some additional training at NYC airports and the hiring of staff. The Humane Society Of The United States came out against the plan, saying culling would not solve the problem and they outlined what needed to be done : make areas inhospitable, use various methods to ward geese off and so forth.
I could write about my reaction to all of this but rather than do that I'll say one word:ahimsa-and add that we live in a interconnected world and that requires thoughtful ,long term solutions . I came across a petition to protest this action and signed it & I'd like to invite folks to add their names and comments if they feel moved to do so(& pass it on to others) . I imagine a community like this one has many great ideas and some of you have expertise & personal interest in this area .
I'll add 2 other thoughts:
1. We have a great luxury. We can come up with ideas , study things and create wonderful solutions . Animals (and plants, the sea and the rest of the natural world in which we live and on which we depend ) have not got that luxury. Mankind's actions are currently determining so much & our impact is so overwhelming that I would think we would be better than this type of thing.
2. "We can judge the heart of a man by his treatment of animals" Immanual Kant / "The greatness of a nation and its moral progress can be judged by the way its animals are treated" Mahatma Gandhi
You can find the petition here:
http://www.thepetitionsite.com/1/stop-nys-goose-gassing-plan
It goes without saying that I thank you all. It would be nice to think we could make a difference, save some lives and be part of a productive & wise solution.
Gina
