A program to kill geese in a New Jersey town is having its final swan song.
After four years of rounding up and euthanizing Canada geese in the town of Edgewater, Mayor Michael J. McPartland said Tuesday there were no more geese left to gas.
“Last year we euthanized only seven birds,” McPartland told NJ.com. “That is down from about 100 birds four years ago.”
The four-year contract with the Department of Agriculture was designed to keep the Canada geese population down. The geese caused havoc on the town’s Veterans Field, which was closed for renovations in 2011 after toxins were found in the soil. The goal of killing the geese was to cut down on goose droppings and improve public safety, according to NorthJersey.com.
The decision to kill the geese was met with protests. More than 5,000 people signed a petition asking the mayor to stop gassing the geese.
McPartland said the protesters did not affect his decision to decide against renewing the contract with the USDA.
“They crucified us, the town and council, looking for notoriety,” McPartland told NJ.com. “There are 70 municipalities in the state that use the USDA program and kill far more birds than us.”
McPartland said the town will find new ways to stop the geese, including putting up new fences, and even getting a Border Collie to protect the local park.
Still, if the geese population booms again, McPartland said he won’t rule out going back to the gas.
“Statistics have shown that the [euthanasia] program worked,” McPartland told NewJersey.com.