Letter: An alternative to hunting geese

After reading all the letters lately opposing a goose hunt, I had to respond. There is a solution to this problem that will work and will not do them any serious harm. The problem, as I understand it, is not that there are geese, but the location of the geese.

Some years ago we had a problem with pigeons nesting under some irregular roof niches. We didn't want to do them any serious harm, but we did want them gone. We turned to paintball guns. The paintballs are reasonably high velocity, so they sting the birds as well as coat them with paint. The paint is water soluble - neither it nor the impact did lasting harm to pigeons, which are smaller than geese. After three applications, the pigeons left forever (it's been eight years now).

This solution would do no serious physical harm to these geese, but it would get them to move from the problem areas. We informed two city departments about this solution, but were ignored.

Shirley A. Morris

Cedar Rapids