Riled by cull
Horrified onlookers have described Canada geese being rounded up into a net, their necks broken and their bodies tossed on the ground while their wings were still flapping.
Horrified onlookers have described Canada geese being rounded up into a net, their necks broken and their bodies tossed on the ground while their wings were still flapping.
Mikayla Hopkins watched the cull this week at Palmerston North’s Hokowhitu Lagoon from across the water at Caccia Birch House, where several people were attending a seminar.
‘‘The problem was the rough way the men handled the animals and the many unhappy people who had to witness the event.’’
The morning cull by city council staff, sanctioned by the Ministry for Primary Industries, prompted five complaints.
Council leisure assets officer Brian Way said the birds were pests and numbers had to be controlled.
As well as damaging crops and pasture and creating a hazard for aircraft, they dropped large amounts of faeces.
‘‘This is very unpleasant and is a health and safety issue. It also makes the park quite unsuitable for a family picnic on the grass.’’
Way said the cull was carried out by experienced aviary staff and the geese were killed quickly and humanely.
‘‘We apologise if witnessing this caused anyone distress.’’
Staff had been told to act less publicly in future.
The ministry received one of the complaints.
A spokesman said the ministry was previously in contact with the council regarding this cull, and the method was accepted as effective and humane.
But another witness said he struggled to accept the killing was humane.
‘‘They were just tossing them, flapping around with broken necks.
‘‘I do not deny that they are pests, but there are other ways to remove them. It just would have cost more.’’
He was shocked the operation went ahead in the school holidays in a public place where children could have witnessed it.
The man said children would have got the message that violence toward living creatures was OK.