Tuesday, September 27, 2011

We Own The World!!

Canada geese befouling France run afoul of authorities
"Having already established itself as a poopy pest in the U.S., Britain and even far-off New Zealand, this country's best-known and frequently least-loved avian export — the Canada goose — has now entered the sights of France's main hunters' organization, which is urging an end to special protections for the bird to curb overpopulation and pollution problems.

Known in France as "la bernache du Canada," the goose's numbers have shot up from a few hundred a decade ago to about 5,000 today. Even French wildlife advocates are acknowledging the problems posed by the population explosion of the elegant but aggressive waterfowl, which have contaminated public swimming areas, overrun some parks and encroached on the wetland habitats of native species.

"Their droppings really make a mess on lawns and leisure areas, and in swimming pools," French ornithologist Philippe Dubois, who is heading a study of alien species for the Bird Protection League (Ligue pour la Protection des Oiseaux), told Le Monde last week. "They have a strong sense of territory and will prevent other waterfowl from moving into quite a large area round their nest, so they may hinder reproduction by ducks, coots and other goose species."

Meanwhile, Canada geese are reproducing — and defecating — prolifically throughout much of Europe, where they are listed among the continent's most problematic invasive species."
Nice play on words, too.

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2 Comments:

Blogger Dave in Pa. said...

Here in the northeast US is the worst of the Canada goose problem. That's the millions of these rodents-with-wings that are no longer migratory. Having found localized food sources, they hang around large bodies of fresh water, which are usually major sources/reservoirs fo public drinking water. Each adult Canada goose produces 1.5 lbs. of waste into said drinking water daily, with massive bacteria problems and resulting expense.

My preferred solution -suggested by many others- is a few years of a drastically lengthened hunting season and hunting limits. However, that idea outrages the Gaians, bambi-lovers, etc. I guess they like Canada goose in their drink of water.

September 29, 2011 11:30 pm  
Blogger Louise said...

Weapons of Mess and Distraction.

September 30, 2011 11:06 am  

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