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Jul 12, 2007 8:50 pm US/Eastern
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Officials Pledge To Solve Geese Problem
PITTSBURGH (KDKA) ―
Hundreds of geese have taken over North Park but now local officials say they're going to do something about it.
People have been complaining that the droppings have been littering groves and playgrounds.
"We want to enjoy the park," Kim Herr, from Stanton Heights, said. "It's a shame I have to wash his shoes whenever I put him in the car. I have to look at my shoes before I can get into the car."
Until now, the Allegheny County has been unwilling to harvest or kill the geese. But after a report on KDKA this week and a segment on Marty Griffin's radio show on News Talk 1020, about 400 listeners emailed County Executive Dan Onorato calling on him to take action.
"Up until this point, we were dealing with other issues and I thought this was being handled," Onorato said. "It wasn't. I will take care of it."
So far, the county has pursued a policy of harassing the geese and oiling their eggs to prevent them from reproducing. The geese live an average of 17 years and under the county's strategy, any meaningful reduction could take a very long time.
But now Onorato agrees the problem is so severe in North Park that the county can't afford a gradual solution. And although he won't say exactly how he'll do it, he says the goose population has to be reduced this year in order to save the park from further destruction.
There are now more than 250,000 Canadian geese in Pennsylvania and they're causing similar problems across the state.
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