A posting on the popular neighborhood news and social app Nextdoor had a lot of people upset recently due to a group of kids who were allegedly treating much beloved local geese horribly.
The initial poster put up a picture of the three youngsters and stated, “Does anyone know whose kids these belong to? They are walking on Eagle Rd. shooting a BB gun at people’s cars, geese and they’re babies, and trying to get in cars in the parking lot! Needs to be stopped asap before someone or an animal is shot! Parents, know where your kids are and what they are doing!”
(The Rhino Times isn’t running the picture because they are juveniles.)
The reactions were just as one might guess.
“Makes my d@mn blood Boil..!!!” one responder wrote.
That wasn’t the only recent example of people in the area abusing geese.
One person wrote, “The girls at Walmart customer service told me that someone purposely drove through the parking lot and killed two adult geese two days ago…. It wasn’t an accident. They sped up and you can tell because the geese were destroyed…. Nothing left…There’s a bunch of adult geese and babies up there.”
Others on the Nextdoor app saw these incidents as a larger sign that Greensboro is getting to be a much scarier place to live in than it used to be – given the animal cruelty, the rise in murders and the way people drive and engage in brazen shoplifting.
“Our sleepy nice town is no more,” the poster wrote, adding that the police are overwhelmed and there needs to be more local and federal law enforcement addressing drugs, trafficking and car theft rings in the area.
Another suggested a curfew on all children under a certain age – with parents being the ones punished if their kids are caught out after hours.
“These kids are bold and don’t care!” the Nextdoor commenter wrote. “Their parents need to be held responsible! It’s just a matter of time! They were chasing the geese and babies with long sticks Sunday!”
If you do witness someone harming wild life, you can call the North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission.
Goose abuse is nothing new for Greensboro.
In the summer of 2003, the News and Record ran a story headlined, “Three Teenagers Cited In Death Of Goose At Park” with the sub head, “The Bird, Named Aflac, Had Been An Attraction At Country Park For A Year.”
Three teenagers, the article said, used an air pistol to kill one of the park’s popular Canada geese. The teens were cited as adults for discharging a firearm in the city and causing malicious damage.
In that 2003 article, the manager of Country Park said the dead goose was named Aflac, a beloved park attraction that was named for the famous bird in the Aflac insurance television commercials.
“What angers me is we have so many people out here coming to the park to feed the geese,’ the park manager stated at that time, “Now we have to answer the questions of children and parents. They ask, ‘Where’s the goose?’ He’s part of the regular population here, like the people are.”
It’s not only the geese, it’s everyone in jeopardy. So can the City explain why the GPD is understaffed?
The local Govt is responsible for maintaining a safe enviornment in the City. They are not doing their job. I suppose if I defend myself, family & property, then I will have to defend my right of self-defense.
I you don’t have a concealed carry permit, get one. The GPD will arrive at a crime scene.
People have become just plain MEAN! I rarely go out alone any more. It’s not just animals, it’s people and everything else. When did it become ok to just kill something like a goose or a dog (hmm). When did it become ok to be mean to people and yell at them and hit them and make fun of their disability (hmm). In the times when I grew up we had role models. Local leaders, teachers, principal, NATIONAL POLITICIANS! Those days are GONE. Where are the parents, OH I forgot, they aren’t responsible to be role models or even know where their kids are. How many of these crimes, yes crimes are done for videos on their phones. Make cell phones illegal until they are 18. Punish the poor parents. Our leaders, especially NATIONAL POLITICIANS , need to get their manners back and be fold models. Their parents would be disappointed…..of course except for ONE.
These birds are protected. Jot down the license number of the offending vehicle and call it in to the PD claiming animal abuse, without being specific. They’ll follow up. And we need to get a handle on BB guns as well. The killing of innocent birds and animals serves no purpose here in Greensboro. Speak up, people. I hate being the only one to report such crimes. Besides, BB guns are a precursor to the real thing in my opinion.
Either these teens or another group actually KILLED the goose. Saddest picture….. The person who witnessed it was told to just leave it in the pond. What the heck? So much for protection for geese. The same kids were shooting at cars, etc. with their air gun. This was about a week ago. Posted on Nextdoor.
Something needs to be done around here and SOON. Greensboro is becoming a garbage city and cruelty to animals is just one of the man problems around here. It takes a lot of evil to be cruel to animals and kill them for fun. Who knows what’s next.
I am so sick of hearing we cannot release information because they are juveniles. I think if they are mean enough to do the crime they should be exposed and it should not matter what age they are. I also think if they do a major crime they should be tried as an adult. This is the only way we’re going to get this nonsense to stop. When you act like a idiot you should have no protection on your identity you should be charged and exposed.
Amen, Mr. Hall! People of all ages should be held accountable for their actions and realize there are consequences, including the release of their names. Also, schools need to stop hiding behind “privacy issues” when students are violent and/or commit crimes on school property.