pPlease call Mamaroneck Mayor Norm Rosenblum the Village Trustees and tell them to cancel the mean-spirited plan to slaughter Canada geese. Remind him that goose roundups are monstrous-USDA agents typically enter the pond area during early morning, roughly separating goslings from parents, and then stuff the bound, panicked geese and babies into crates. Next, the geese are gassed or shot to death. Ask the Mayor and the Trustees if they imagine such immorality is preferable to cleaning the grass and modifying some habitat and landscapes./p
blockquotepstrongVillage of Mamaroneck/strong — Mayor Norman S. Rosenblum; Phone: (914) 777-7738; a href=”mailto:nrosenblum@vomny.org”E-Mail/abr /br /
Louis N. Santoro-Deputy Mayor; a href=”mailto:lsantoro@vomny.org”E-Mail/abr /
Illissa Miller-Trustee; a href=”mailto:imiller@vomny.org”E-Mail/abr /
Leon Potok-Trustee; a href=”mailto:lpotok@vomny.org”E-Mail/abr /
Andres Bermudez-Hallstrom-Trustee; a href=”mailto:abermudez@vomny.org”E-Mail/a /p/blockquote
blockquotepstrongMamaroneck residents urge nonlethal alternatives to geese problem/strong/p/blockquote
pMar 12, 2013 /p
pstrongemThe Journal News/em/strong/p
pMAMARONECK – Calling the village’s plan to slaughter geese inhumane, about 50 animal defenders and residents urged lawmakers to consider alternatives during Monday night’s village board meeting./p
pThe hearing was limited to 25 minutes, and only about 20 of the 50 people assembled were able to speak. In a highly unpopular move, Mayor Norman Rosenblum limited each speaker to one minute each, eliciting complaints from those gathered. The board said it would not respond to any of the comments./p
pTo tackle the decades-long issue of goose droppings in the parks, the village plans to work with the U.S. Department of Agriculture to kill the birds and donate their meat to local food banks./p
pLast year, the village purchased a $29,000 Rake-O-Vac to clean up the goose droppings./p
pEdita Birnkrant, the New York director of Friends of Animals, a nonprofit, international animal advocacy organization, called the village’s plan “misguided.”/p
pShe asked why the village wouldn’t give the Rake-O-Vac a chance./p
p”Just clean it up,” said Birnkrant, a supporter of habitat and landscape modifications to deter geese. “We need a different mindset.” When she exceeded her one minute, the mayor began calling on a police officer to escort her from the podium./p
pAccording to the USDA plan, the geese would be captured during the summer during their molting period – when they shed wing feathers and can’t fly – and their nests will be treated with corn oil to prevent eggs from hatching./p
pPaula Young, a state wildlife rehabilitator, asked the board to use “humane deterrents” like a “grape Kool-Aid,” which she said, contains methyl anthranilate./p
p”It does not harm them, but they find it repulsive,” she said./p
pAnimal advocate Kiley Blackman of Tuckahoe urged the board to consider other options./p
p”I am begging you, do anything but slaughter them,” she said./p
pLorraine Izzo of Bronxville said Mamaroneck was setting a bad example for children./p
p”We are teaching them that when something gets in our way, we need to exterminate them,” she said./p
pLast week, the mayor said the village would hear presentations on other options from experts at its March 18 meeting./p
pScarsdale recently dropped its plan to work with the USDA on a similar plan after a public outcry./p
