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‘Killing geese not purpose of plan’

http://www.iol.co.za/scitech/science/environment/killing-geese-not-purpose-of-plan-1.1774314

November 3 2014 at 08:21am By Kieran Legg

hawk on hand

HUNTER: Plans to use trained hawks to keep the Egyptian goose population at Steenberg Golf Estate under control have been scrapped.

Cape Town – Plans to use trained hawks to control the burgeoning Egyptian geese population on the Steenberg Golf Estate, Cape Town, have been scrapped after some landowners objected, claiming the practice was cruel to both hawks and geese.

But Raptor Force, the company only three days into its Goose Conditioning Programme on the course when it decided to drop out of the contract, said this was not true. Boss Alan Clemo said that not only was the method humane, but it was one of the most effective ways to deal with large populations of geese.

“We withdrew from Steenberg because as falconers, we may only fly a venue with the landowner’s permission.”

Raptor Force became involved with the Steenberg estate because large numbers of Egyptian geese were invading greens, fairways and waterholes, said Clemo. Other golf estates have similar problems with Egyptian geese, which are indigenous.

Research conducted by Rob Little, of the Percy Fitzpatrick Ornithological Institute at UCT, showed that most golfers believed the populations had to be cut down by a considerable amount. Clemo said the researcher had approached him to carry out a study on the impact hawks would have on goose populations on the course.

“We submitted a proposal, the trustees voted on it and it was unanimously approved.”

Killing the geese was not the purpose of the plan. As Clemo put it: “The vast majority of individuals need to live to tell the tale.

“Killing geese on the golf course is therefore counterproductive to the conditioning process. The hawk needs to hold the goose until the abatement crew can subdue it. To avoid unnecessary injury to the geese, the hawks’ talons are blunted. Once caught, the hawk is removed, the goose inspected for any injuries and unceremoniously released.”

The goose will join the rest of the flock and as a whole the population will become wary of waterholes and fairways, the threat of a predator circling above and swooping down on them still fresh in their minds.

But complaints received by the SPCA suggested otherwise. The hawks were being injured and the geese were being killed, not by the hawks but by the falconers. The company has denied the latter.

NSPCA Wildlife Protection Unit manager Ainsley Hay said using hawks for pest control was “abhorrent”.

“These Egyptian geese are large, much larger than the hawks that are being used. Harris hawks will usually hunt small rodents, these birds are not their natural prey.”

One of the hawks did break its leg during the three days the programme on the course was running.

“That’s true,” said Clemo. “She has seen a vet and is on the mend. We have flown thousands of sorties with our team of Harris hawks and this was our first injury on the job. In nature, raptors are frequently injured by their quarry, which generally leads to their demise. In a domestic setting this is not the case, and a visit to the vet generally resolves the injury.”

While Raptor Force has pulled out of Steenberg they are still flying their hawks on other courses.

Cape of Good Hope SPCA spokeswoman Wanika Davids said they had sat down with the owners of the Steenberg golf estate to discuss other methods of controlling the population. New methods could range from erecting picket fences around bodies of water to make the geese “uncomfortable” or using Border collies to chase the birds from the greens, or using a new device known as the Goosinator.

The remote-controlled device has been described by its creator as “a goose’s worst nightmare”. It skims across the surface of a lake, river, pond or dam tailing birds in places where they aren’t used to being chased.

Cape Argus