Dear Editor,
Re: “Geese cull in Richmond park may ruffle a few feathers,” Letters, Richmond-News.com June 25.
With regard to the newly-renovated Minoru Lakes Park, I see the goose haters are already out in full force with their complaints.
The problem is not the geese and their completely normal behaviour and body functions all living things have, including us.
It is two issues, one complex, the other simple. The complex issue is the nature deficit disorder many people have - an inability to coexist with the natural world and an intolerance of wildlife to the degree of thinking nothing of killing the animals who have just as much right to live in peace as we do.
The simple part, and the solution to this is a clean-up program.
The main objection to geese is their droppings (which by the way, are harmless and not carriers of disease; humans would have been wiped out by geese thousands of years ago if this were the case. Check hospital records - no one is hospitalized because of goose poop.)
A clean-up program could be as simple as a volunteer effort (possibly for seniors, with the enticement of a lunch) or possibly a community service option for low level crimes.
Goose poop could even be made into fertilizer (it’s actually the best kind) and sold at the park!
A little creative thinking is called for here, not a death sentence.
Arlene Steinberg
Richmond
