Westwood Officials Look at Coyote Decoy for Goose Control

Members of the Westwood council got to see a decoy of a coyote, which could be used to deter geese from borough parks and fields.

Councilwoman Ingrid Quinn held up the product, called Lifelike Stalking Predator Coyote, for the governing body to see during the council meeting Tuesday night. She has been investigating goose control in the borough and said Recreation Director Gary Buchheister, Board of Health Director Sharon Blehl and DPW Superintendent Rick Woods, who have been tasked with creating a plan, are in the process of gathering information.

Quinn showed council members the coyote decoy and said it is supposed to maintain its lifelike shape. She added that it would have to be moved around so the geese would believe it was a real predator. She stressed that using the simulated coyotes would be just one of ways the borough would use to control the population.

Mayor John Birkner Jr. agreed that several methods should be used. "You're 1,000 percent right on the multilevel approach," he said. "No one method is going to take care of the situation."

For now the department heads are still investigating various ways to keep the goose population in check in the borough.

The issue is by no means isolated to Westwood. "They say about 3.5 to 5.5 million non-migratory Canadian geese reside in the U.S.," Quinn said. "There are a lot of geese out there."