Is Mamaroneck Considering Alternatives to Goose Slaughter?

After a heated response from the community, the Village of Mamaroneck Board of Trustees may be weighing alternatives to the planned goose slaughter scheduled for the summer.

At yesterday's work session, the board considered an approximately $11K proposal from Dr. Steven Garber of Worldwide Ecology, a CT-based environmental services consulting firm. Garber—who has worked with both Yale's Peabody Museum of Natural History and the American Museum of Natural History and authored The Urban Naturalist—was contacted by Trustee Leon Potok about the village's U.S.D.A. contract.

Rather than rounding up geese after they have laid eggs, as the U.S.D.A. plans to do, Garber's plan proposes a no-nest policy, which he will enforce by observing animal behavior during courting season and teaching geese that they are not welcome. Should any eggs be laid, they will not be allowed to hatch.

Garber also outlines several other steps in his proposal including "hazing" to disperse the population that is currently there; to do this, his team will maintain a constant presence in the area and will utilize noise making devices, dogs and vehicles to accomplish this.

The proposal, however, does not rule out goose slaughter.  If the methods he suggests prove unsuccessful after the second or third year, Garber indicates euthanization by lethal injection may be necessary.

Richard Slingerland, village manager, said that no decisions have yet been made; the Board has asked both a U.S.D.A. representative and Garber to attend the board's next work session to discuss further.