Katie Couric's Notebook: Geese

By: Clifden Kennedy
Topics: Katie Couric's Notebook

Katie Couric is off today. I'm Maggie Rodriguez.

The city of New York is declaring a war on geese, and some animal rights activists are crying foul.

As many as 25,000 Canadian geese inhabit the metropolitan area, and those birds can become a feathered foe if they collide with airplanes.

In fact, a flock of geese destroyed the engines of US Airways flight 1549 causing that emergency landing on the Hudson River in January.

Operation "goose – be – gone" involves reducing the population within five miles of the airports.

Some are protesting New York City Mayor Mike Bloomberg's decision to euthanize 2000 geese by trapping and killing them in molting season - the time when they can't fly.

But with more than 73,000 bird strikes reported nationally in the past 8 years, wildlife experts and the FAA concur - it'll take more than a wing and a prayer to protect airplanes in flight.

The debate continues in New York. But for now those geese are cooked.

I'm Maggie Rodriguez, CBS News.

7 Comments Have Your Say
Email Story Send to a Friend
Share This Tell Your Friends
Tweet This Tweet This
More Share It

Add a Comment


by petersemkiw June 21, 2009 10:25 PM EDT: When do I get a hickey ?; Reply to this comment


by casey_abbott June 21, 2009 12:34 PM EDT: Well, let's take stock of your life.; Reply to this comment


by petersemkiw June 20, 2009 10:04 PM EDT: You need someone watching your back at all times.; Reply to this comment


by myfuelie62 June 20, 2009 6:49 PM EDT: What we need is a high tech Starship Enterprise force field around the engines so the geese will just bounce off the field and not enter the engines.; Reply to this comment


by kenhamlett June 20, 2009 3:34 PM EDT: One has to wonder about the thought process involved in this sort of solution. If they kill the geese in the area one season, those that are in surrounding areas will fill the void the next season. Unless the plan is to kill every Canadian Goose everywhere they will eventually come back.
This is simply a situation where they built an airport in the wrong place and they refuse to admit the solution is to move the airport. Since they don't seem to mind improvements and expansions over the years at the airport we might assume that there is no real problem. Otherwise they would have begun building in a different spot long ago and abandoning the current location.
Thus there can't possibly be a problem since the geese were flying there long before airplanes flew, airports were built and politicians listened to silly advice (OK that last one may be close to being as perpetual as the geese); Reply to this comment