Leave shoes at door and be healthier

Passing Fremd High School this week, I was appalled by the number of geese gathered on the baseball fields. I took a picture and estimate there must have been 60 to 70 on just one of the outfield areas. Everyone comments about the absurdity of protecting the Canada goose population when they are very obviously a pest in terms of numbers.

With respect to accomplishing a change in federal law that gives the goose its protective cover, we are very unlikely to get consensus on this issue. This is a problem that might be resolved best by the action of local citizens, working together to bring about logical change in their own neighborhoods. My suggestion would be taking steps to leave the fecal matter outside.

A cursory review of the literature suggests that goose population growth is a problem throughout the U.S., particularly in heavily populated areas — those areas where we raise our children and send them to school. A goose evacuates about 5 pounds of feces per day. A favorite grazing ground and evacuation area is the local school playground. When your kids go out to play, they play in fecal material and then go back into the school where it is spread across the carpet in a smear of filth.

As a nation we are facing huge challenges with respect to our health and well-being. Would it not make sense to at least protect our kids from this environmental risk in some way? In Japan, children remove their street shoes when they go into school, or their home. Others have met this challenge. Might we be able to do the same?

Richard L. May

Inverness