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Bayonne council rebukes administration for recent geese culling and bans future culling without council approval
Summary
After extensive public comment and angry testimony, the Bayonne Municipal Council on July 16 adopted a resolution condemning the recent culling of Canada geese in city parks, demanded the administration not authorize future culls without council approval, and exempted narrow animal-control or extermination responses on private property.
The Bayonne Municipal Council on July 16 adopted a resolution formally rejecting the recent culling of Canada geese in the city’s parks, rebuking the administration’s decision to allow the federal agency action and directing that no future callings of geese occur without prior council approval.
The resolution, introduced and read by the council president, says the council "rejects the idea that the culling of geese is a necessity," "rebukes the administration's recent choice to cull geese," and "demands that the administration refrain from any future cullings of any type without first having the approval and consent of the municipal council." The resolution also states that the restriction does not apply to individual or small groups of wild animals that may need to be addressed by exterminators or animal-control officers.
The vote followed emotional public testimony. Darlene DeNaga (spelling in transcript), who identified herself as a resident active on wildlife issues, described the recent deaths as a “massacre” and asked whether the USDA had legal authority to carry out the action on what she believed to be privately owned land. Ken DuPane, a resident, said he had been told nonlethal alternatives were offered by wildlife-protection groups and that the contract could have been canceled.
Council members acknowledged resident outrage, discussed the chain of decision-making between the administration and federal Wildlife Services, and said the administration must provide answers. The council voted to adopt the resolution and to require the administration to seek council approval before authorizing any similar future action; the resolution takes effect immediately.
Why it matters: residents widely objected to the method and secrecy of the agency action; the council’s resolution imposes a legislative check on the executive branch’s decisions regarding wildlife control in city parks.
What’s next: the council’s resolution is effective immediately; the administration said it will explain more about the contracting and the action at a later agenda item and will work with animal-protection groups on alternatives.
