Belfast Airport threat to Henry the one legged goose
24.06.08
Time is running out for a one-legged goose who lives in a park near Belfast City Airport, the BBC reports. Henry, a hoppity bird, beloved by hundreds of children in east Belfast, is on a death list because he and 39 other geese at Victoria Park pose a threat to planes landing and taking off at the nearby airport.
If a goose or swan gets caught up in a jet engine, then it spells potential catastrophe, the Environment and Heritage Service has said. As previously reported, a pest controller for the airport has been busy culling the Canadian and greylag geese eggs to kill the developing chicks.
But Councillor Michael Copeland said he has been contacted by one of his constituents who said a sign had been put up at the bandstand in Victoria Park giving notice that 40 geese were to be culled in July. He told the BBC: ‘Henry the one-legged goose is quite famous around here. I've seen him myself. When the children visit the park they want to see him. They do not understand about planes. Do they have to kill the birds. Couldn't they just clip their wings and stop them flying?’
An Environment and Heritage Service spokeswoman confirmed they had a licence to shoot up to 40 adult birds in the park ‘if other deterrents such as scaring do not reduce the hazard to aircraft taking off and landing’. She said it was ‘a proportionate response to an increasing bird population in the park, made in the interests of public safety’.
Alan Young of air traffic services at the airport said while a licence had been applied for, the cull ‘has not been deemed necessary. We have bird hazard assessments and associated management plans. These are reviewed regularly and at our last update, dealing with a consultant, it was agreed that as a precautionary measure we would apply for a licence to shoot up to 40 geese.'
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