06/29/00

Wildlife Services (USDA) Dupes Federal Judge in Seattle

Seattle -- The killing of thousands of Canada geese in the Seattle area began this week after U.S. District Judge Marsha Pechman denied the Humane Society of the United States (HSUS) a full hearing on their complaint that the proposed killing of 3,500 geese was based on an inadequate environmental impact statement and for being in violation of the Migratory Bird Treaty Act.

According to the June 12 edition of the Seattle Times, "She [the Judge] cited the birds' 14 percent yearly population growth rate, along with possible health risks of bacteria in their waste."

If this WAS the basis for her decision, the USDA's Wildlife Services really put one over on her.

While much has been alleged about Canada geese being a public heath risk, the lack of legitimate scientific evidence to support such claims is remarkable.

Only recently have efforts been stepped up to find even the smallest public health infraction by these birds. (Humans should be held to such high standards!) While these studies share one remarkable thing in common -- they are promoted or carried out by those trying to justify the killing of geese -- health professionals without any connection to the issue find the notion of geese being a public health problem utterly ludicrous. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and Wildlife Services (USDA) rely on the repeated use of fraudulent, irrelevant or unsubstantiated information to create the false impression that the public should be concerned about geese as a health issue.

The phony public health argument was invented almost 10 years ago by chronic complainers desperately looking for legitmate sounding reasons to kill geese. In reality, Seattle area geese are being killed because they are an inconvenience for some people. At the same time, environmentally friendly, non-lethal forms of goose control are being used with great success in other communities -- communities that have higher ethical standards and better problem solving skills.

In making her decision, Judge Pechman failed to take into account the profit motive of Wildlife Services as a clue to the intensity of the disinformation to which she might be exposed.

Wildlife Services is recognized as one of the most fiscally dubious agencies within the federal government. They are justly regarded as second class bureaucrats and the willingness of Congress to slash their funding each year attests to this fact. This leaves Wildlife Services in need of a steady supply of cash-grabs to keep itself afloat. This is precisely what these goose kills are REALLY all about, and why Wildlife Services unabashedly propagates false information -- to keep its wildlife extermination business solvent.