3 days ago
Multiple geese apparently run over, community member calls for action
WICHITA, Kan (KSNW) — Monday morning, Cylie Gillespie was one of a few to discover a 'disgusting' scene. Along McLean Street lay around half a dozen geese and goslings just feet from each other, and clearly, they had been run over.
Roadkill on Wichita's streets is not uncommon. It was the way these geese were spaced along the street that caused Gillespie to pause her morning drive to work.
'Being that I've lived by the river for so long, you know I have seen geese hit, whether it's one or a couple. But what caught my eye was that there were so many of them and they were feet apart from each other,' Gillespie said.
Stopping for geese is a fact of life for commutes in the city, and by extension, so is roadkill. But killing a goose, especially intentionally, can come with a hefty fine. Canada Geese, like those laying on McLean, are protected by the Migratory Bird Treaty of 1918.
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'Those birds are federally protected for a reason,' she said.
The treaty's goal is to encourage a sustained population of all migratory bird species. For Gillespie, it also highlights a more local issue of speeding in the area.
'People might think this is a laughing matter, and nature doesn't matter and wildlife doesn't matter and it matters to people who care,' she said. 'Even at Riverside Park, people don't follow the speed limit, and there are children and other animals, and people choose to fly through here.'
As for the geese killed along McLean, she hopes this comes as a wake-up call.
'Why can't we slow down? Why can't we find patience in life to do better as people?! Gillespie said. 'They were simply crossing the street, hoping people would stop for them and have some empathy and patience.'
Gillespie says she would like stricter enforcement of speed limits and a wildlife crossing sign to go up in the area.
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