Method and Apparatus for Controlling Herbivore Fowl Populations

Abstract

A method and apparatus is provided for controlling the location in which herbivore fowl populations congregate by altering the behaviour of the fowl through the combination of providing a strong disincentive to populate areas where the presence of the fowl is not desired and a strong incentive to populate a proximate area where the presence of fowl can be tolerated. For herbivore waterfowl, and in particular Canada geese, the adjacent area also provides the waterfowl with a means of egress to water as an escape from predators and other perceived threats. The method uses a deterrent in the form of adulterated feed to dissuade the herbivore fowl from congregating in areas in which their presence is not desired and the use of an attractant in the form of non-adulterated feed to encourage the herbivore fowl to congregate in a proximate area in which their presence can be tolerated.

Description

FIELD OF THE INVENTION[0001]The present invention relates to an improved method and apparatus for controlling the manner in which nuisance herbivore fowl populations, and in particular Canada geese populations, congregate by altering the behaviour of the fowl through the combination of providing a disincentive to congregate in areas where their presence is not desired, and an incentive to congregate in one or more alternative areas where their presence can be tolerated.BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION[0002]Certain species of birds are protected under the Migratory Bird Treaty Act of 1918, which in turn is Federal Law in Mexico, the United States of America and Canada. Historically the species governed by these laws migrated along flight paths with a change in seasons. Several events have affected how man and these birds have interacted. For example, when DDT (dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane) was banned in the 1970s, its negative effect to bird eggshells was eliminated and threatened bird...

AI Technical Summary

Benefits of technology

The present patent text describes a solution to the problem of herbivore fowl populations, like Canada geese, causing nuisance in places where they are not desired, such as parks, lawns, and golf courses. The invention has been designed to help herbivore waterfowl populations avoid such areas, reducing the impact on landowners and improving overall quality of life.

Problems solved by technology

Additionally, natural predation from animals such as foxes, coyotes and wolves has gradually reduced owing to population declines of these predators, in part due to human expansion on lands they previously habituated.

For many bird species, these changes have also resulted in an increase in conflicts between man and bird.

This is particularly the case during seasons where the fowl are moulting and have lost their flight feathers and / or are raising newly hatched young that are not yet capable of flight.

These interactions range in severity from being a nuisance to being extremely costly, or even deadly in the case of fowl congregating in aircraft flight paths.

In addition to terrorizing the geese, these deterrent methods can often annoy humans (particularly noise and light-related harassment techniques) and often require the modification of landscapes in undesirable ways by saturating grassy areas with chemical repellents, allowing grass to grow to longer lengths, erecting barriers that impede human traffic as well as waterfowl traffic, and the display of visual deterrents that can be unsightly in a natural environment.

While the provision of alternative feeding areas is stated to enhance the effectiveness of most hazing techniques, providing a suitable area is often impractical in practice.

A second type of repellent that is available is anthraquinone-based (for example, sold as GOOSECHASE®), which is also safe for humans but is unpalatable and causes a feeling of digestive irritation for geese.

However, the application of repellents over large grassy areas is costly and requires re-application after rains or irrigation, as well as after the grass is mowed, in order to maintain effectiveness.

Moreover, the widespread spraying of chemicals is not desirable in recreational areas.

Thus, for areas with maintained lawns, such as parks, lawns and golf courses, the use of repellents is generally costly and ineffective as a long-term solution for the control of nuisance herbivore fowl populations, and in particular herbivore waterfowl populations such as Canada geese.

Ultimately, methods involving harassment prove to be ineffective in the long term for one primary reason—the bird's need to survive trumps mankind's desire and his allowable resources to eliminate them.

Owing to the lack of long-term effect, and despite the knowledge and availability of various methods of controlling the location in which nuisance herbivore fowl populations congregate, including the use of repellents, the use of alternative feeding areas, and their combination, there remains significant problems in the effective application of these methods.

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