Committee to Reconsider Decision to Kill Deerhead Lake Geese

The township committee will be revisiting their decision to have the United States Department of Agriculture come in and kill the Deerhead Lake geese population at its caucus meeting at 7 p.m., just after

“The committee is rethinking the whole situation,” Mayor Mark Dykoff previously said.

Committeemen David Most and Gary Quinn along with Recreation Director James Wioland met with an eagle kite vendor recently.

The demonstration by the eagle kite vendor was “productive,” Most said. The device mimics an eagle to scare the geese. Although unsure how the eagle kite will work in the long-term but it comes with a money-back guarantee, he said.

“With a money-back guarantee, why would you do the capture?” he previously said.

The Hotaling family of Lakeside Drive South was relieved to hear the committee would be reconsidering their to euthanize the geese.

“We’re very distressed of any harming of the geese,” Gwenn Hotaling said.

Feeding and watching the geese brings the family “great pleasure,” she said.  The Hotaling’s look forward to the bird’s arrival yearly as they get to witness the goslings hatch as well as learn how to swim and fly.

Ernest Hotaling, 86, has lived off the lake for more than 40 years and has created a sanctuary for the birds, he said.

“Geese are a wonderful thing. I’m delighted to have water where they can enjoy it,” he said. “They’re no harm to anyone. After September, no one is here. I’m here.”

People move to South Jersey to experience the environment, Gwenn Hotaling said, adding that human beings are encroaching on the bird’s habitat.

“It’s like moving to the ocean and being mad at the waves," she said. "Our very short summer needs are outweighing the needs of nature. It’s serious. It’s not just like picking up leaves. They’re living creatures.”

But not everyone on Lakeside Drive South welcomes the geese with open arms.

“Whatever it takes. Get rid of them,” one resident, who declined to provide his name, said.

He had to put up a wired fence around his backyard to keep the geese out.

“There are too many,” he said. “It’s very disgusting.”

Susan Siering was torn, though.

“Initially I thought it was a very brave decision for (the committee) to do it,” she said. “But I feel horrible for what happens to the geese when they’re gassed.”

Return to Lacey Patch on Friday to read about the committee’s decision.