North Jersey Municipalities Destroying Eggs, Euthanizing Canadian Geese To Control Their Numbers

Several North Jersey municipalities — including some in Bergen County and Passaic counties — are using lethal methods to control Canadian geese in their borders and local animal rights and environmental groups are protesting the practice.

These control methods range from using remote-controlled vehicles to disperse the animals, egg addling, which involving puncturing them and placing them back in nests to prevent geese from re-nesting, and trapping and euthanizing the geese using carbon dioxide.

Edgewater has been working diligently to remove the geese from Veterans Field, a multi-acre, wide-open park along the Hudson River where the geese have been nesting.

Edgewater is under contract with the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) to remove their geese population by destroying the eggs and euthanizing the geese using carbon dioxide.

“Many animal lovers come to Edgewater and feed the geese, which creates problems because the geese do not migrate, they remain all year because of the feeding,” said Gregory S. Franz, Edgewater’s administrator. “There are no natural predators to the goose, and the program provides a control for the population.”

The USDA’s Wildlife Services has helped about 65 individuals, local municipalities, and businesses help control their Canadian Geese populations in New Jersey this year. The USDA could not provide specific municipalities that are using lethal methods to control their populations.

Franz said this year 25 Bergen, Hudson, and Passaic municipalities are participating in nest addling and goose removal to help curtail goose population and discourage breeding.

“Wildlife Services recommends an integrated damage management approach that complies with rules set by the Federal and State wildlife management agencies,” said Gail Keirn with the USDA’s public affairs office. “It suggests both nonlethal and lethal techniques ranging from no-feeding policies to depredation permits, depending on the situation.”

In 2014, Wildlife Services responded to 208 requests about damage related to Canada geese in New Jersey. More than 34,000 geese from locations where they threatened human safety or causes property damage were removed safely, Keirn said. Only 2,017 birds were euthanized and 740 addled.

The USDA’s program provides a way of reducing or eliminating potential goose strikes with the many airplanes and helicopters flying over Edgewater, as well as reducing the amount of excrement on public walkways,” Franz said.

The League of Humane Voters, the Animal Protection League of New Jersey, and the Sierra Club are protesting Edgewater’s plan.

“Gassing the geese is only a temporary way to reduce their numbers and can be considered inhumane,” said Jeff Tittel, Sierra Club director. “In order to create a better environment overall in the town, the Council should consider efforts to modify habitat, enforce laws to prohibit feeding the birds, and look into non-lethal tactics to scare the geese away such as noise devices.”

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Adult Canadian geese and goslings. By Brocken Inaglory via Wikipedia Commons, used with permission