Animal activists foil Lake Union goose roundup

A goose roundup at South Lake Union was thwarted yesterday morning by members of the Northwest Animal Rights Network who were staking out a park, the activists say.

Meanwhile, U.S. Department of Agriculture agents did manage to remove several geese from Green Lake near the Bathhouse Theatre - though about 150 remain at the lake.

The agency is destroying 3,500 resident Canada geese in the Puget Sound region this summer at the request of landowners and cities where bird poop has fouled beaches, parks, lawns and golf courses. Geese are multiplying rapidly, and other measures such as bird-chasing dogs, egg addling and reflective strips haven't solved the problem.

At Lake Union, USDA personnel in pickup trucks showed up at 6:40 a.m. at South Lake Union Park, where animal-rights network leaders Joe Haptas and Wayne Johnson were keeping watch, the two said.

They thought with the city's acceptance of the nearby Naval Reserve property tomorrow and this weekend's Wooden Boat Festival, there would be pressure to remove the geese. About 60 geese were in the area this morning.

The federal agents spotted Haptas and left. Johnson said he followed one truck to Lake City, then returned to Lake Union in case a roundup attempt resumed. Haptas said he followed three trucks toward Seward Park, but the caravan split up. He pursued one truck south toward Tacoma, hoping to find where they are headquartered.

Haptas said he tailed a truck with a wood-and-steel cage across the Narrows Bridge toward Bremerton, until two Washington State Patrol cars "boxed me in" and the gray USDA pickup sped off.

Spokespeople for Mayor Paul Schell and Seattle parks dismissed the activists' theory about removing geese in time for this weekend's festivities. "We don't influence where the agents go or when," parks spokeswoman Dewey Potter said.

At Green Lake yesterday morning, a fresh cage imprint, tire tracks and a blanket of goose droppings mark where agents captured some geese on a grassy slope some 150 yards south of the Bathhouse Theatre and a swimming beach. Afterward, at least 150 geese lingered at the eastern shore swimming area and two other spots.

Still, that's fewer than the 249 birds counted in a citywide goose census June 13, suggesting that agents have visited Green Lake.

Agents have been capturing geese at a fast pace the past two weeks, while the birds molt and are unable to fly off. On Wednesday, Wildlife Services removed 100 geese from the Cedar River Trail near Renton Municipal Airport and more than 140 birds from Bitter Lake Park in North Seattle.

The USDA's Wildlife Services division has captured about half of its 3,500-goose quota and is on pace to finish the roundups by mid-July, said Roger Woodruff, the division's assistant state director. The geese are killed by suffocation using carbon dioxide gas. Some of the meat is being donated to food banks.

Mike Lindblom's phone message number is 206-515-5631. His e-mail address is mlindblom@seattletimes.com.