Posted by
Katy Grimes on Thursday, September 04, 2008 7:04:24 PM
Several months ago I wrote about illegal hunting and poaching in the park by my house
Someone stole my geese. A couple of months ago, my geese, "Click" & "Clack," voluntarily moved from my backyard across the street to the big city park. There were other domestic geese living in the pond, and my geese joined them.
and the follow up
All of the geese in these photos are now gone.
I just ran into a fellow at the market that I've known for many years. He's a retired attorney now, and I see him running in the park everyday. He told me a horrible story.
A few months ago he and his wife were walking in the park when a woman ran up to them, frantically waving her arms and holding a cell phone. She pointed to another woman and screamed "you can't do that!" The other woman was an older Hmong woman. She had two little children with her, and had a goose under her arm. My friend and his wife approached her and told her that she could not steal a goose from the park. At this point the goose was already dead. She shoved the kids and the goose into her car and told them, "I paid for it. It's mine." She ran around her car and drove away before anyone could stop her.
And therein is the primary problem; there are immigrants living in Sacramento who believe that the fish in the ponds, the ducks and geese living in the parks and all other critters living on public or private property is their entitlement.
The parks are being ravaged. The trash from the fishermen is epidemic. The fishermen even dig hundreds of small holes in the grass to harvest worms. But they don't fill them in, and walkers and runners trip in them. I fell in one yesterday. My German Shepherd even tripped in one on a recent walk.
The City of Sacramento has talked about doing something about the poaching and illegal fishing. We now have a few signs posted about the illegal hunting and cruelty to birds
here
We are waiting for action. Meanwhile, I've counted three ducks entangled in fishing line, and one with a fishing hook in it's neck (line still attached). Sometimes I am able to catch the bird and cut the line free, but not always.
I've asked the question before, but have not received an answer: If the City of Sacramento cannot enforce such simple laws as poaching, hunting and fishing in the parks, what else is not important enough for them to enforce?