OTTAWA -- Dismayed by the amount of excrement produced by Canada geese near her summer home, a Conservative senator on Tuesday said some should be shot and fed to the poor.
"We should shoot some of these geese or feed them to the poor, that would be my preference," Nancy Ruth told senior officials of the Canadian Food Inspection Agency appearing at the Senate finance committee to discuss the agency's budget for the next fiscal year.
"The Canada goose is a health hazard," Ms. Ruth added, explaining fecal waste runs into the lake and causes skin irritation known as swimmer's itch.
Ms. Ruth, who said she was unsure about which government department to raise her concerns, was pleased when colleagues told her waterfowl hunting rules are set by provincial ministries and corrected her mistaken belief that "(only) aboriginals can . . . shoot Canada goose."
"That is excellent," said the Toronto native, who was appointed to the Senate in 2005 by former Liberal prime minister Paul Martin.
Ms. Ruth isn't the first to call for a Canada geese cull.
In 1997, a report commissioned by a multi-municipality committee in the Toronto area said culling geese and donating the meat to local banks may be the answer to the growing problem of the mess on beaches and in parks.
In an interview, Ms. Ruth later said her proposal for cottage country would work for Toronto as well.
"It's downtown Toronto, too, where I also have a home . . . Why don't we kill them and feed them to the poor in Toronto? There's always been this discussion. We cull other animals. Why would we not cull the goose, especially when we have more and more people using food banks?"
Sarah Schmidt, Canwest News Service Published: Tuesday, March 24, 2009
Ms. Ruth said the reaction of her colleagues earlier Tuesday speaks to a recognition that something must be done.
"The amount of laughter you heard in committee, I'm not the only one who has this problem with swimmer's itch."
Across North America, the geese population is about 4.3 million and in southern Ontario in the summer months there are an estimated 300,000.
This represents a dramatic shift from a century ago, when overhunting for their meat and feathers had reduced their populations to near extinction.
This was followed by legislation to protect the migratory bird and successful repopulation initiatives.
"We should shoot some of these geese or feed them to the poor, that would be my preference," Nancy Ruth told senior officials of the Canadian Food Inspection Agency appearing at the Senate finance committee to discuss the agency's budget for the next fiscal year.
"The Canada goose is a health hazard," Ms. Ruth added, explaining fecal waste runs into the lake and causes skin irritation known as swimmer's itch.
Ms. Ruth, who said she was unsure about which government department to raise her concerns, was pleased when colleagues told her waterfowl hunting rules are set by provincial ministries and corrected her mistaken belief that "(only) aboriginals can . . . shoot Canada goose."
"That is excellent," said the Toronto native, who was appointed to the Senate in 2005 by former Liberal prime minister Paul Martin.
Ms. Ruth isn't the first to call for a Canada geese cull.
In 1997, a report commissioned by a multi-municipality committee in the Toronto area said culling geese and donating the meat to local banks may be the answer to the growing problem of the mess on beaches and in parks.
In an interview, Ms. Ruth later said her proposal for cottage country would work for Toronto as well.
"It's downtown Toronto, too, where I also have a home . . . Why don't we kill them and feed them to the poor in Toronto? There's always been this discussion. We cull other animals. Why would we not cull the goose, especially when we have more and more people using food banks?"
Sarah Schmidt, Canwest News Service Published: Tuesday, March 24, 2009
Ms. Ruth said the reaction of her colleagues earlier Tuesday speaks to a recognition that something must be done.
"The amount of laughter you heard in committee, I'm not the only one who has this problem with swimmer's itch."
Across North America, the geese population is about 4.3 million and in southern Ontario in the summer months there are an estimated 300,000.
This represents a dramatic shift from a century ago, when overhunting for their meat and feathers had reduced their populations to near extinction.
This was followed by legislation to protect the migratory bird and successful repopulation initiatives.
