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HOPEDALE, MASSACHUSETTS

Death threat over bird hunt fails to get town’s goose
By Matt Lynch/ Milford Daily News
Wednesday, October 4, 2006 - Updated: 12:48 AM EST

Somebody is gunning for Hopedale officials who had the gall, a bird-loving assassin charges, to declare open season on pesky geese.
    The poison-pen death threat addressed to town officials follows an invitation to five hunters last month to shoot Canada geese at a pond.
    “Watch your back because someone might open fire on you and your children some day,” the threatening letter reads.
    The anonymous diatribe was addressed to Hopdedale Town Coordinator Gene Phillips and copied to Health Inspector Leonard Izzo. But the goose-defending culprit may never be caught.
    “We don’t have the original envelope, so I think it would be physically impossible to trace,” Phillips said.
    The town’s decision to allow five hunters to shoot geese at Hopedale Pond in an effort to control the population has generated protest on Web sites across the country.
    Officials said they believe the letter probably was not written by a Hopedale resident.
    Residents opposed to the shooting will attend tonight’s Park Commission meeting, along with a member of the Massachusetts Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, to voice their protest.
    Phillips said he won’t give the letter any credence and plans to put the issue to rest.
    “We’ve decided the less we talk about it, the better,” he said.
Although the envelope was thrown out, the town still has the original letter. But Selectman Alan Ryan said there are no plans to dust it for fingerprints or investigate further.
    “I don’t think it will go that far,” he said. “I really don’t think somebody local did it.”

Police can’t trace letter with threat
By Matt Lynch/ Daily News Staff
Wednesday, October 4, 2006 - Updated: 01:20 AM EST

HOPEDALE -- An envelope, containing a letter threatening two town employees over the local geese problem, was thrown away, leaving police unable to trace it, town officials said yesterday.
    The letter, addressed to Town Coordinator Gene Phillips and copied to Health Inspector Leonard Izzo, closed with the sentence, "Watch your back because someone might open fire on you and your children some day."
    "We don’t have the original envelope, so I think it would be physically impossible to trace," said Phillips. "I showed it to the chief this morning."
    Officials said the letter was a response to the town’s decision to let hunters shoot Canada geese at Hopedale Pond. The letter was sent to Phillips’ office but opened by his assistant, who then placed the anonymous letter in the selectmen’s packet of information for Monday night’s meeting.
    The town’s decision to allow five hunters to shoot geese at Hopedale Pond in an effort to control the population has generated protest on Web sites across the country.
Officials said they believe the letter was probably not written by a Hopedale resident.
    "I suspect it came from somewhere out of state because a lot of stuff ended up on goose-lover Web sites," said selectmen Chairman Alan Ryan. "It very likely didn’t come from someone in town."
    The letter also drew the ire of residents who have protested the geese shooting.
    Beverly Swift, one of the residents leading the opposition to the shooting, said she was disgusted by the letter.
    "That’s just not right," said Swift. "I’m appalled by that. We certainly wouldn’t want to get into anything like that."
    Swift and other residents opposed to the shooting will attend tonight’s Park Commission meeting, along with a member of the Massachusetts Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, where the topic is on the agenda.
    Ryan said Phillips had not actually been aware of the letter until Monday night’s meeting, since an assistant opened the mail and then put the letter in the selectmen’s packets.
    The two-page letter began by criticizing the town’s decision and then quickly devolved into a rant that ended with the overt threat against Phillips and Izzo.
    "It talked about the geese and said it is despicable what we are doing," said Ryan. "It then connected that to a society where there are school shootings. And then it went from bad to worse.
    "The end part was just disturbing," he added.
    Phillips said he won’t give the letter any credence and plans to just put the issue to rest.
    "We’ve decided the less we talk about it, the better," said Phillips.
    Although the envelope was thrown out, the town still has the original letter. But Ryan said there are no plans to dust the letter for fingerprints or investigate the matter any further.
    "I don’t think it will go that far," he said. "I really don’t think somebody local did it."
    Matt Lynch can be reached at 508-634-7556 or mlynch@cnc.com.

Hopedale Brings In Hunters To Control Geese

(CBS4) HOPEDALE Some residents of Hopedale are unhappy with the town's solution to a surging geese population. The town ordered a controlled hunt in an effort to reduce the number of Canada geese at Hopedale Pond.

“What kind of message are we sending to the kids?” said former selectman Walter Swift. “If something is a nuisance, what do we do? Pick up a gun?”

The town has authorized five individuals to hunt on the park land during certain times until the current open season ends on Sept. 23.

The town has tried different methods, including decoys, in the past. None apparently worked.

“If you have an abrasion on your foot and step on it, you can get an infection,” said Leonardo Izzo, the Hopedale Health Inspector.

Health officials said an abundance of geese droppings pose a major health risk to people using the pond.

“We feel that people come first right now its important for the town, important for recreation in that area and were going to continue to do it,” said Hopedale Parks Commission Chair Rick Espanet.

Espanet said the matter wasn't brought before the town because the Park Commission and Board of Health based their action on a 2005 survey that showed people overwhelmingly support any effort to reopen Hopedale Pond for swimmers.

“From our standpoint, we’ve got a serious health hazard along the entire shoreline of the pond,” said Hopedale selectman Eugene Phillips.

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Geese being shot in Hopedale for health reasons
By Matt Lynch/ Daily News Staff
Friday, September 15, 2006 - Updated: 01:45 AM EST

HOPEDALE -- There will be no reprieve for Canada geese at Hopedale Pond.


    Officials said they refuse to let the objections of a "vocal minority" prevent the town from continuing its practice of letting a select group of five hunters shoot geese in an effort to clean up Hopedale Pond. Hunting will not take place during school hours or weekends.

    The town first closed the pond Monday morning for two hours to let the hunters on the land, drawing criticism from some residents.

    But in the past few days, Park Commission Chairman Rick Espanet said the majority of residents have supported the plan.

    "Hearing the feedback and talking with other public officials, public opinion seems to be running about 10 to 1 in favor of what we’re doing," he said. "A lot of people are saying, ’Hey, keep going.’"

    Board of Selectmen Chairman Alan Ryan said having the geese shot is not an ideal solution, but they have already tried decoys which failed. The town is trying to ensure the end result of the hunting is as positive as can be. Hunters will next go to the pond according to their availability.

    So far fewer than 10 geese have been shot. Ryan said any geese that are killed will be donated to area food kitchens. He also said the town is not paying anything for the hunters to come in.

    "Obviously, it’s a very difficult decision to make to cull out an animal population like this," said Ryan. "The good news is we’re cleaning up the ponds and the grounds and making it safer and more pleasant for everyone.

    "The majority of people have been very positive," said Ryan.

Hopedale is hardly alone in having to deal with a geese population problem.


    Towns across Massachusetts and New England are struggling with an overpopulation of an animal that can produce up to 3 pounds of waste each day.

    Officials in Sharon have spent the last five years dealing with an abundance of geese at Memorial Park Beach at the 383-acre Lake Massapoag.

    David Clifton, the town’s recreation director, said the situation has been improved by using a border collie trained to go on land and in water to scare away the geese.

    "You can actually sit on our beaches," said Clifton. "It’s not a panacea. It doesn’t eliminate the geese but it makes it more manageable."

    Espanet said it is much too soon to see if Hopedale’s solution will have a similar effect.

    "We’re not going to be able to get an idea of the level of success until the spring," he said.

    Espanet has described the hunting as a controlled process that will continue until the state-mandated goose season expires Sept. 23.

    But David Feld, the national program director for GeesePeace, a nonprofit organization that specializes in helping towns deal with problems with geese, is skeptical.

    "If you shoot them, they will just be back next spring," he said. "You need to make the area unattractive and scary to geese so they go where no one cares."

    Feld said the United States has seen a tremendous increase in Canada geese population because of laws outlawing live decoys. He said hunters once clipped the wings of geese and used the live geese as hunting decoys.

    But when the practice was outlawed, hunters simply released the geese, introducing a large number of virtually domesticated geese into the wild.

    "They didn’t even know what Canada is, much less how to get there,"said Feld. "They were born in temperate areas. Now the geese are taking it on the chin because of the stupid stuff we did with the geese population."

    Espanet said the town is simply trying to ensure visitors to Hopedale Pond can walk and kayak without fear of diseases carried by geese feces, such as salmonella.

    "We’re just trying to do something to restore Hopedale Pond," he said.

    Matt Lynch can be reached at 508-634-7556 or mlynch@cnc.com.

*****
PLEASE WRITE TO:

Mr. Eugene Phillips, Town Coordinator P.O. Box 7 78 Hopedale Street Hopedale, MA 01747
ephillips.hopedale@comcast.net

Mr. Richard P. Espanet,Park Commission Chairman P.O. Box 7 Town Hall Hopedale, MA 01747
parks@hopedale-ma.gov

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Re: Town Meeting of September 11, 2006 and slaughter of Geese

Dear Mr. Phillips:

First you have a moment of silence for the victims of September 11th and then you discuss killing Geese? What is wrong with this picture? There are many ways you can take care of your alleged Goose problem without killing them. This speaks volumes about you and your town.

Please contact GeesePeace to assist you.

http://www.geesepeace.org/ (703) 354-1713 (703) 354-1940 fax info@geesepeace.org or
Write directly at: GeesePeace 6405 Lakeview Drive Falls Church, VA 22041

"This situation has gone from a public nuisance situation to a public-health problem," Maio said. There is no health problem associated with the Geese-that’s more propaganda. You must have a town full of idiots if they believe that nonsense. Please produce one person who has gotten sick from the Geese. You can’t!

Please see http://www.canadageese.org/news12.html and http://www.canadageese.org/news8.html

There is a great deal of information out there if you just look. The real problem is you, you just want an excuse to kill the Geese, and don’t want to use the brain God gave you to come up with a humane solution to your alleged problem.

The Geese have just as much right to be on Mother Earth as you do, and we have a responsibility to treat them in a kind and respectful manner.

In feeding the Geese to the poor, you are just trying to justify the unjustifiable. If you folks have any intelligence at all, you will take care of this alleged problem in a humane manner. Thank you for your time and attention to this matter.

Sincerely yours,

Patricia M. Nelson

*****
Letter: Give 'geesepeace' a chance before killing birds
Saturday, September 16, 2006

The Coalition to Prevent the Destruction of Canada Geese was appalled to read the town of Hopedale has resorted to killing Canada geese in an effort to reduce the amount of geese feces at Hopedale Pond and Park.

    This decisionwas based "on a 2005 survey that showed people overwhelmingly support any effort to reopen Hopedale Pond for swimmers." The Coalition does not believe there was overwhelming support for killing the geese and questions the interpretation of "any effort" by town officials.

    The Coalition spoke with Leonard Izzo, Hopedale's health inspector, regarding the health department's claim the geese pose a major health risk, a claim that neither U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service or the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention make. The geese pose only a potential heath risk. When asked if he had any record of human illness caused by the geese, Izzo's response was, "Yes, one person." Before it could be determined if the person's illness was definitively linked to the geese, Izzo cut the conversation short,giving the Coalition reason to believe the person's illness has not been definitively linked to the geese.

    Controversial kill programs, including those which provide nothing more than a hunting opportunity, are rendered ineffective when a void is created for other geese to fill. Consequently, we urge Hopedale officials to abandon their kill program and adopt the successful, non-lethal goose abatement program designed by Geese Peace -- www.geesepeace.org, which includes addling eggs, landscape modification and the use of a Border collie service.

    SHARON PAWLAK,

    National coordinator CPDCG

    Medford, N.J.

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Dear Mr.Phillips and Mr. Espanet:

I am shocked and appalled by your decision to rid Hopedale Pond of Canada geese by allowing hunters to shoot the geese.

You are essentially sending the message to everyone, young and old alike, that violence is the only way to deal with "problems" in our society. Is there any wonder that we live in a violent society with people like you running a city this way?

The geese are not a "problem." It's people like you who are the biggest problems. You promote cruelty. You promote violence. You lie.

Your claim that geese pose a serious health hazard is bogus and untrue. Neither the US Fish and Wildlife Service nor the CDC makes such claims. Show me proof that geese pose a serious health hazard.

Shooting the geese will not prevent more geese from taking up residence at Hopedale Pond. You know that. You're promoting the hunting of the geese because you know that you'll use the same reason and the same excuse to promote hunting again.

People like you should not be in office!

Sincerely,

Choo Choo Love
Founder, LOVE CANADA GEESE.

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