“More geese may have to be culled” at Leeds-Bradford Airport
The airport’s operations director says more geese may be culled to ensure the safety of planes. He said urgent action was needed from time to time, and recently met with residents protesting against the killing of geese at Yeadon Tarn last year. He said measures such as egg picking were already in place – but sometimes it was necessary to react quickly to a particular problem. The airport already used scaring tactics to deflect the geese but had a duty to ensure safety. “We have got to be prepared if suddenly a flock of geese descend and set up a roost somewhere in the locality, and then decide to fly across the airport. We have got to be able to deal with that.”
[The Tarn is very close to the runway, to the south west of it, so it is understandable that birds there are unncomfortably close to the airport Map ]
14th February 2012 (Telegraph & Argus)
By Annette McIntyre
More geese culling to ensure the safety of planes at Leeds Bradford Airport cannot be ruled out in future, an airport chief has said.
Carl Lapworth, the airport’s operations and engineering director, said urgent action was needed from time to time, and he stressed that it was not possible to rule out future culls.
Mr Lapworth, who has recently met with residents protesting against the killing of geese at Yeadon Tarn last year, told the Telegraph & Argus that the airport already had a habitat management plan to stop birds becoming a safety hazard to planes.
He said measures such as egg picking were already in place – but sometimes it was necessary to react quickly to a particular problem.
Mr Lapworth stressed that the airport had to order the killing of some of the geese last year because of a threat to safety as a number of geese were flying from the Tarn across the airport.
“The fundamental risk is that what happened in New York a number of years ago with an aircraft that hit a flock of geese that forced it down into the harbour.
“The issue with geese is that they don’t just fly on their own – they flock together.”
Mr Lapworth stressed that the airport already used scaring tactics to deflect the geese but had a duty to ensure safety.
“We have got to be prepared if suddenly a flock of geese descend and set up a roost somewhere in the locality, and then decide to fly across the airport,” he said. “We have got to be able to deal with that.”
Local people put up RIP notices after ten geese were killed around the Tarn last year and several more were culled nearby in a later incident.
Protesters argue that the geese have lived at Yeadon Tarn for many years without it being deemed necessary to kill them, and they say more humane methods should be found.
Food and Environment Research Agency officers shot the flock last year, after it was deemed “a significant risk to aircraft.”
see earlier
Leeds Bradford Airport bosses vow to change Canada Geese cull
February 7, 2012 Airport chiefs, who ordered a cull of 10 Canada Geese at a Leeds beauty spot, YeadonTarn, have said they find other ways to control the population. There was no local consultation about the cull beforehand.Food and Environment Research Agency officers shot the flock, which was deemed “a significant risk to aircraft”, in September by closing the green space to dog walkers in the early hours. Plans for an £11million expansion of the airport, which could be completed by this summer, had sparked further fears of culls. A meeting took place recently between the airport and angry local residents. Click here to view full story…