1. Marilyn on Dead Canada Goose.
2. Editor’s Response.
1. Marilyn on Dead Canada Goose.
Marilyn Wellons reports the following:
An opinion in the May 20 Boston Globe called for the extermination of Canada geese.
Ten days later I found the body of a Canada goose whose nesting along the Charles River I’d followed closely this spring. It seemed to have died violently, a sight I’d seen before, in 2001, when authorities were vilifying the Charles River White Geese in much the same terms as the Globe’s editor now.
This goose and its mate had persisted for weeks as other geese managed to hatch their eggs. They remained alone by the water, tending their nest. I saw them daily.
The afternoon of May 20, I noticed a man moving carefully toward the two. They were alarmed, but held their posts. After quite some time the man noticed I was watching him. He then seemed to turn his attention to the river or sky. Again after quite some time he began to walk away, quickly up the hill toward the street. At some distance he looked back, to see me still watching him.
The following Friday I saw him again, staring at the geese. There were many other people around, so I went on. That Sunday or Monday the geese were gone. I hoped they and their goslings were finally on the river. When I checked the nest, however, I found the decomposing body of a goose a few feet away, wings in an attitude of flight, neck possibly broken, lying on a long stick. It had been dead for at least a day.
People who kill animals often go on to kill people. Over the next 2 days I called the State Police Lower Basin, State Police Brighton, Environmental Police, Mayor's Office hotline Boston, and the Boston Animal Rescue League. Given the DCR’s reaction to the White Geese’s killings in 2001 and the MSPCA’s botched investigation, I did not call them.
I tried to alert the authorities to the possible danger to humans and to get a necropsy to establish the cause of death, without success. Possibly one of the agencies removed the body; in any case a DCR employee mowing the grass near the nest may have done so.
An officer from the Environmental Police did speak with me this past weekend. He seemed aware of the danger and will follow up to the extent possible.
Thinking it over, I wonder if the Environmental Police rather than MSPCA are now responsible for investigating animal cruelty (at least on state parkland) because the MSPCA failed so dismally in 2001. It seems very likely that the killers of all those White Geese—starting in March and going through July—went on to rape, stab, and beat to death Io Nachtwey a few months later, exactly where the geese had been stabbed and beaten to death.
We don't know if investigation into her death revealed that her killers had also killed the White Geese. And that MSPCA's work on that had been worse then negligent--in my opinion, based on my experience,--corrupt. But it seems possible, even likely that information would have come out in interrogations of the 6 people now in jail for her death.
2. Editor’s Response.
You add to the proven irresponsibility in the Boston Globe, outrageous behavior in Cambridge.
A City Manager created group is holding an event to celebrate the environment destruction and heartless animal abuse associated with the BU Bridge area bizarre projects.
They compound their behavior with suppression of information on the environmental destruction and heartless animal abuse. They have gone so far as to conduct a "public meeting" on the projects in which they allow the DCR to say everything they wanted. They prohibitted any and all negative comment on the project, on the record, on the plans to destroy hundreds of trees and further abuse animals and on the many lies.
The extreme dishonesty will not fool these guys' friends, their fellow destroyers.
