DO
All animals, human and non-human alike, have the
“potential” for spreading disease but unless infected, there is no disease to
spread. Geese are a product of their environment, not the other way around.
Geese do not pose a significant health risk as evidenced by the fact the Centers
for Disease Control and Prevention have no record of a human illness outbreak
definitively linked to goose feces.
The following quotes from professionals in the
field serve to separate fact from fiction.
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Those droppings have the potential, though minimal, to cause disease. Wasilco said there have been “limited cases” where goose droppings were found to carry high levels of E. coli, but that “it is generally not a form of the bacteria that is harmful to humans.”
Mike Wasilco is the
regional wildlife manager for Region 8 of the state Department of Environmental
Conservation.
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Re: Salmonella
Article -
“Another Huntly farmer claimed he lost 38 cows to salmonella contracted from goose droppings in 2006, but Auckland/Waikato Fish and Game chief executive Doug Emmett said in January the water fowl were not effective carriers of the disease and there was no proof linking stock deaths to the geese.
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“Though Lokai said
there are always possibilities of migratory birds carrying diseases, Champaign
County Health Commissioner Shelia Hiddleson said proper sanitation should curb
problems.”
“Making sure
children wash their hands and pets’ paws are washed after walks will
eliminate the bacteria or viruses they
could have picked up, she said.”
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Article by Mike Cronin – Tribune Review – June, 2007 –
“Droppings merely lying on the ground don't pose a health threat to humans,
according to officials at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in
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Article – North Jersey Media Group –
“Health experts say
it is unlikely the droppings alone will cause skin infections. Health Officer
Ken Hawkswell said he knows of no studies showing transferable diseases from
geese to humans”.
“Dr. Julie Piwoz,
chief of pediatric infectious diseases at
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Article –
Westport Weston
Health District Wildlife Symposium
“When the symposium
turned its attention to
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Article – reporter
Rex Springston – Times-Dispatch – October 19, 2006
“Canada goose
droppings can contain germs such as salmonella. But Julia Murphy,
Virginia Department
of Health’s public-health veterinarian said there is no reason to believe geese
pose any more of a health risk than other wildlife, or even cats and dogs.”
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Article - reporter
Duncan Moore – Bloomberg.com – March 23, 2006
“The Illinois
Department of Public Health says that while the presence of the waste isn’t a
health risk, park visitors should avoid contact with droppings.”
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The
H. Heusmann, a
waterfowl biologist with Massachusetts Fish and Wildlife, said the geese are
more of a nuisance than a problem. According to several major studies, goose
fecal matter poses very low health risks to humans because, “they don’t carry
many of the bacteria that make humans sick,” he said.
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Clemmons Journal –
Nov. 24.2005
“Brad Deen, a spokesman for the N.C. Wildlife Resource Commission, said that geese are not known to pose a serious health hazard.”
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Greenwich Time – May 8, 2005
“Goose droppings actually pose no risk of infection, said
Tome Baptist, executive director of Audubon
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Dr. Douglas Roscoe, Fish and Wildlife Health and Forensics Supervisor at the New Jersey Department of Fish, Game and Wildlife
Giardia and cryptosporidium are fairly widespread in the water and in the birds. The protozoans are better known for their contamination of streams by cattle. Because the geese drink water, they contract the organism, which lives inside their intestinal tract.
At this time, the epidemiological evidence does not show there is a health hazard from the feral [sic] material, Roscoe said.
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Dr. Chris Karp
Professor of Infectious Diseases
"I wouldn't think it is a significant health threat --
Giardia is a fairly common contaminant and
************************************************************
Christopher W. Olsen, DVM, Ph.D.
Professor of Public Health
University of Wisconsin-Madison
"While geese may be either mechanical disseminators or actual carriers of these organisms, the level of risk that they pose remains to be determined. In addition, particularly in the case of Giardia, research suggests that some strains of the organism may be restricted to animals and distinct from strains that infect humans."
*************************************************************
Massachusetts-based U.S. Fish and Wildlife Biologist, George Hass
E Magazine, Nov-Dec 1996
“There’s the perception among the public and some health officials – though we have no evidence – that the concentration of birds, and the feathers and fecal material, could constitute a threat to human health.”
**************************************************************
Dr. Milton Friend
(Former Director)
"On occasion we have been wading in that stuff, dead birds
up to our elbows. There is not a
single documented case of any of us coming down with any kind of a disease
problem as a result of
(Panel Presentation transcript - 1993)
*************************************************************
Dr. Timothy Ford**
Microbiology Dept. of Environmental Health
"Numbers of Cryptosporidium oocysts associated with
**Author of Microbiological Safety of Drinking Water:
*************************************************************
David S. Adam
Coordinator Health Projects, Vector Control
Infectious and Zoonotic Diseases Program
State of
"Giardia lamblia, as well as Cryptosporidium, is most commonly transmitted to humans by person-to-person fecal-oral contamination or by water fecally contaminated by humans or other mammals. Infection is usually asymptomatic, with children infected more frequently than adults, often in the day care setting.
In summary, the role of
A number of beach closings, including several in
*************************************************************
Management of the Canada goose in the Town of Greenwich, CT.
Conservation Commission, 1999
"Examination of goose droppings showed only expected bacteria in normal concentrations. To date, state pathologists know of no cases where human illness can be ascribed to goose droppings.
*************************************************************
Charles Easterberg**
"Water is the perfect medium for bacterial spread or viral spread. I have not seen any data that links pathogens from geese to the point of affecting humans. If someone's open wound came into contact with goose feces, it would be highly unlikely for the wound to become infected as a result.
We have no documentation that anyone's ever had any health problems with the geese, ever. The possibility of geese spreading disease to other waterfowl in the future is more likely than human infection. (The Daily of the UW - April 20, 1998)
**Mr. Easterberg is a Sanitarian and Environmental professor at the UW
***********************************************************
The Northeastern
Pathology Department
Indeed, only a few diseases can be transmitted to humans from birds. Thus it appears that the primary concern is the unsightly and unpleasant concentrations of droppings rather than a health risk.
*************************************************************
USGS
Report: Screening for potential human pathogens in fecal
material deposited by resident
"Low frequency of positive cultures indicates that risk of
humans to disease through contact with Canada goose feces appeared to be minimal
at the four sites in
*************************************************************
In a November 22, 2002 article of the Chicago Tribune, Ms.
Monica Tischler,
*************************************************************
Leslie MacNeill, Director
Department of Human Services
"Their droppings, noise and territorialism may create problems for some residents, but neither the geese nor their droppings pose a risk to the public's health."
(9/11/2003 - Article: Geese running 'afowl' of local community by staff writer, Jennifer Kohlhepp)
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ETHICS
James A. Serpell, PhD
Assoc. Prof. of Humane Ethics & Animal Welfare
Director, Center for the Interaction of Animals & Society
Department of Clinical Studies,
"Regarding the ethics of killing the geese at all, it depends on the reason(s) why they have decided it is necessary to kill the geese, and whether they have tried all other reasonable means of getting rid of them. If the reasons are relatively trivial (e.g. poop on the golf course), and more humane methods of deterring the geese have not been attempted, then I would regard the slaughter as unnecessary and unethical."