The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has issued a formal plan to reduce the number of Canada geese in the United States.
Federal officials say the plan, effective in about a month, is designed to reduce the number of what is often called the nation's "newest urban pigeons."
Wildlife officials estimate there are more than 3.2 million Canada geese in the United States. The plan, designed to cull that number to about 2 million during the next decade, will provide states with the option of assuming control over goose-reduction methods.
The plan will allow farmers, property owners and public health officials to kill geese by various methods, including hunting, with state approval but without federal permits, the Charlotte (N.C.) Observer said.
John Brady, a biologist and senior vice president for the Humane Society of the United States, told The Rocky Mountain News in Denver his group strongly opposes the measures and will consider legal action.
"Our basic position is ... as a nation, we need to come to grips with urban wildlife, rather than trying to kill it all the time," Brady said.
Copyright 2005 by United Press International
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