New Protest Planned In Bergen County To Stop The Gassing Of Geese

BERGEN COUNTY, NJ — The Animal Protection League of NJ will hold another protest on Saturday to stop the "gassing of Canada geese at Teterboro Airport and entities contracted with Teterboro and USDA-Wildlife Services that are allowing access to their properties," the group has said.

Supporters say they have offered to alternatives to gassing the geese to death, but they have been ignored.

The Animal Protection League, founded in 1983, recently erected a billboard (see above) in Saddle Brook to alert people to the cause.

The group held a protest earlier this month at Teterboro Airport, and will hold another at the airport this Saturday, June 29, from 1 p.m. to 2:15 p.m.

An organizer said it will take place at 111 Industrial Ave. and Route 46 East, Teterboro, rain or shine.

Alternatives To Goose-Gassing Used Elsewhere In NJ

Recently, a group called "Save the Peapack-Gladstone Liberty Park Geese" was able to have geese safely removed from a park by scaring them off with a drone. Animal lovers say there are better ways to deal with geese than to gas entire goose families. READ MORE: Geese On Death Row Saved From Being Gassed At Somerset County Park: Video

The Animal Protection League said, "Teterboro Airport has been gassing Canada geese and many other bird species and mammals for decades. The Airport has an ongoing contract with the USDA-Wildlife Services and in 2022 gassed 827 innocent geese. Teterboro should implement Robin Radar and Flight Turf and develop a comprehensive nonlethal program.

"In air traffic areas, at best it’s irresponsible not to use the most effective methods, at worst, it can be dangerous, providing a false sense of security."

They said that each year, from mid-June to mid-July, Canada geese go through a molt period in which they lose their flight feathers. That's when, they say, the federal Department of Agriculture, hired by towns or businesses, comes in to round up the flightless adults and goslings, put them into a gas chamber, and kill them.

"It takes 15 agonizing minutes and sometimes up to 45 minutes before the geese suffocate and die," the Protection League said in a release this week. "This is the highest level of animal cruelty."

Read more about the Protection League here.