Years ago at least one town in New Jersey would round up the nuisance and dirty geese, the dreaded Canada geese, and put them down. But in our new ‘woke’ culture, even the humane practice of euthanizing harmful geese is frowned upon. This so-called evolution did allow for a new crop of business opportunity so there’s a silver lining. Chasing the geese off your lawn and away, hopefully further than your neighbor.  The problem is that the geese are abundant and they can pose both a damage risk to property and a serious health risk to humans.

'The majority of Canada goose damage complaints in NJ involve accumulations of feces on lawns and walkways at homes, schools, hospitals, corporate campuses, and public parks. Goose feces damage property, compromise overall quality of life, and have the potential to pose serious health threats due to the presence of disease-causing organisms. Other damage associated with geese includes overgrazing of lawns and recreational fields and goose aggression and human injury during the nesting season. Damage: Agricultural damage caused by Canada geese includes crop depredation to sweet and field corn, soybeans, winter wheat, rye, clover, sod, vegetables, and other crops. This damage reduces yield and may increase erosion.' - United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS)

Despite this, they are protected by the government. It’s a short sighted policy which favors of the geese instead of the humans. I got started talking about it because of a guy who is facing charges that he purposefully ran over and killed five geese. Now I don’t want to encourage vigilante goose killings and this reckless guy should be punished, unless it was self defense, we’ll let the court work that out.

Enter your number to get the NJ 101.5 app

Back to what we do about the geese, how about an unlimited hunting season where hunters can harvest as many as their pick up truck bed will hold? What about a state program to round them up and smoke the meat for food banks?

Caller after caller this morning told me that I was wrong, the birds are perfectly edible. Either way, it’s silly to see animal rights activists standing up for a bird, which poses actual threats to our neighborhoods and our health. It’s even more ridiculous to try and humanize these foul beasts given the fact that in America millions of cats and dogs are euthanized every year.

So let’s stop being hypocritical and get our priorities straight. Hey geese…time ya got cooked.

Bill Spadea is on the air weekdays from 6 to 10 a.m., talkin’ Jersey, taking your calls at 1-800-283-1015. Tweet him @NJ1015 or @BillSpadea. The opinions expressed here are solely those of Bill Spadea.

More from New Jersey 101.5:

More From New Jersey 101.5 FM