Search On For 2 Domestic Geese On The Loose On Long Island Beach

RIVERHEAD, NY — The search is on for two domestic geese seen wandering the beach in Riverhead Wednesday.

According to John Di Leonardo, president and executive director of Humane Long Island, a good Samaritan spotted the two domestic geese wandering east from the Roanoke Avenue beach.

Humane Long Island arrived less than 30 minutes later, but the geese were nowhere to be seen, he said.

If anyone sees the geese, Di Leonardo is asking the public to contact him right away by calling 516-592-3722 or emailing [email protected].

"Domestic waterfowl cannot survive in the wild and their severe angel-wing, a wing deformity caused by malnutrition, is evidence that they were likely neglected before being abandoned," he said.

The geese are not the only domestic geese his not-for-profit organization has rescued recently, he said.

"We rescued an abandoned Toulouse goose near the Suffolk County Farm in Yaphank last week and are asking the public to call us if they spot their mate, who was seen with them about a week prior to their rescue," Di Leonardo said.

Di Leonardo said his organization also rescued another Toulouse goose who was abandoned at a golf course in Moriches.

"Their mate was killed by a predator a few weeks prior, and we suspect the mate of the one recovered in Yaphank may have suffered the same fate," he said.

Both of the geese have since been adopted, Di Leonardo said.

Several domestic ducks abandoned throughout Huntington and Babylon were also rescued last week, he said.

"Just like our companion and farmed animals, domestic waterfowl were domesticated by humans thousands of years ago," Di Leonardo said. "Years of selective breeding have produced waterfowl vastly different from their wild counterparts, both physiologically and psychologically, just like dogs and wolves. Bred for either egg or meat production, domestic ducks have tiny wings, large bodies and generally no camouflage. They typically cannot fly, and they can never migrate — literally sitting ducks for predators and cruel people when abandoned to the wild."

Domestic ducks and geese also lack the survival instincts of wild birds; many were raised in incubators and never learned even limited skills from their mother, he said.

When abandoned on ponds, they do not know how to forage for naturally occurring food and often starve to death, Di Leonardo added.

"They are routinely attacked and killed by predators, including raccoons, foxes, snapping turtles, and cruel humans," he said. "Most die within the first few days of being dumped. If they make it until winter, they face diminishing natural food sources and frozen ponds and cannot migrate to find water. These abandoned animals often become frozen in place on the ice. Those who don’t succumb to the elements may be rounded up and killed by exterminators."

In addition, Di Leonardo said abandoning domestic ducks can also be problematic for ecosystems.

"When introduced into nature, non-native species disrupt natural ecosystems, which rely on the migratory behavior of wild ducks and geese and the natural recovery period that comes with their absence. As domestic waterfowl eat not only the roughage of plants but their entire root structure, native plants are particularly at risk from starving ducks who eat voraciously trying futilely to meet the calories they need to survive once abandoned," he said.

Should domestic ducks or geese try to breed with wild birds, their offspring will likely be flightless as well, further disrupting the ecosystem and exposing the young to the same dangers as their domestic parent, he said.

And, he pointed out, "not only is domestic waterfowl abandonment cruel, but it's illegal, punishable by a $1,000 fine or a year in jail."