A Dead Goose Isn't A Good Goose | The Source Weekly - Bend, Oregon

A Dead Goose Isn't A Good Goose

I was in my local paint store recently and I heard a woman very crassly say, "It's too bad the city didn't know those goose nests were in that little pond -- they would have poisoned them all." When she left, the nice gentleman behind the counter assured me the city did not poison geese.

Sadly he was wrong. I saw the geese in the park being rounded up the day they were killed. I didn't know what was happening, otherwise I would have tried to stop it.

I lived across from Drake Park for five years. Never was goose poop an inconvenience for me. Knowing animals in my parks can be gassed at any time however is more than an inconvenience.

Bend Park and Rec told me this morning that the issue came from people complaining about the park being unusable. The proof that the park is usable is that people, including myself, are using it. Bend Park and Rec said people complained about getting goose poop on the bottom of their picnic blankets and joggers saying the bottom of their shoes get "slimy." These are the petty reasons they gassed these animals?

Knowing that the animals I am looking at can be rounded up and gassed by the city will keep me from the park! It will not help me to enjoy it.

If you agree at all please do not vote for the Bend Park and Rec members again. Contact the department. They say they did this because of public opinion, so voice your opposition.

- Tara Lee Classen, Bend

Editor's note: The local parks are managed by the Bend Metro Park and Recreation District, which has no affiliation with the city of Bend. The decision to cull the geese population was made by BMPRD in consultation with ODFW and the USDA.

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