Committee Chooses Alternative Method to Gassing Geese [PHOTOS]

The Lacey Township Committee has rescinded its conditional vote to have the geese killed and voted to use Geesebusters, a business that uses a simulated eagle and whistle to scare the birds away.

“I’m very happy tonight,” said Lacey resident Bonnie Ensor, who protested with a group of approximately 15 prior to the Thursday night committee meeting. “This is a victory as far as I’m concerned.”

The township will be incorporating a combination of education through increased signage noting that feeding the geese is illegal, population stabilization with egg addling and now harassment, Recreation Director James Wioland said.

Geesebusters will utilize an eagle kite during the course of six days, he explained. As the kite flies, the company will blow a whistle. At the end of the six days, only the whistle is needed as the geese have been conditioned to believe there is danger.

“This isn’t a 100 percent elimination of geese but I think we’re going to be restoring the balance of nature and be where we want to be with keeping our beaches clean with this method,” Wioland said.

The service is $2,454 for the six-day cleanout, which would be done in late May and $395 a day for a service call, if the township chooses to use in future months, he said.

The eagle kite has a money back guarantee and if the service is successful, the township can purchase the product for $4,000 and have staff trained by Geesebusters to use it, he said.

“This really brings us back to making sure we have a multi-technique approach,” Wioland said. “If we did just one piece of this, I don’t believe it would be a long-term, effective plan.”

Although geese are not the only problem contributing to bacteria in township lakes, an overwhelming number of Lacey residents agree that something needs to be done to control the geese population, Committeeman Sean Sharkey said.

“I think it would be foolish for any of us to not try (the Geesebusters’) method first,” he said. “I hope it works, I really do. Because if it doesn’t, we’ll be back here next year.”

There are two sides to the issue, Committeeman Gary Quinn said, who originally opposed killing the geese. Quinn had been approached by many who questioned why he voted no.

“My position hasn’t changed,” he said. “I think we have to exhaust every avenue out there to try and find a way to do this before we pull the trigger on that last portion.”

Longtime advocate for Lacey’s lakes Otto Zehl believes the decision will just give the geese another year, he said.

“I like the idea of maybe having a nonlethal way of getting rid of the geese because I’m not in favor of killing them. I just want to get rid of them,” he said. “I think all these things working together will help but the main problem will still be there. I hope I’m wrong.”

When the geese leave Deerhead Lake, they’re just going to relocate to the parks and other areas in Lacey,” Lacey resident John Lane said.

“The fact that we have to spend $2,400 to prove to everybody that there’s no other way to do this, you guys need to get back on track,” he said. “You were right the first time.”

David Sauder, president of Animal Rights Activists of New Jersey and a resident of Voorhees, thanked the committee for developing an “integrated, nonlethal method” to control the geese population.

“I am hopeful that Lacey’s nonlethal geese management plan can become a model for other townships throughout the state of New Jersey and maybe even the country,” he said.