CALABASAS : Lake Geese Shipped to Bakersfield Area

The county has begun shipping geese from Lake Calabasas to a ranch near Bakersfield, hoping to end a controversy over what to do about the birds, which in the past few years have become so numerous they pose a health hazard.

Animal-rights activists, meanwhile, claim they were misled by an association representing homeowners who live around the lake. The Calabasas Park Homeowners Assn., the activists say, went back on its word to give them time to find Calabasas-area homes for the geese before the shipments began.

“I don’t want to keep blasting the CPHA, but I just feel that through poor management or poor planning, this happened,” said Calabasas Mayor Karyn Foley, who has spearheaded the movement to find homes for the birds.

Ten geese were transported Tuesday, and the rest were scheduled to be transported over the next few days, said Bruce Richards, manager of the Agoura Animal Shelter.

During transport the geese will be kept in a screened-in trailer with straw on the bottom to keep them from being tossed about, Richards said.

A marine biochemist recommended the ranch, where the birds will live on a pond in a more natural setting, said Jeff Morrison, an acting staff assistant for the Los Angeles County Department of Parks and Recreation, which oversees maintenance of the lake.

The birds have lived the good life in Calabasas, often living off fattening handouts. “Right now, they can’t fly because they are so heavy,” Morrison said. “Up there they will lose weight and they will begin to eat naturally.”

Foley said she and others had found homes for some of the geese, but the association paid no attention.

“They never acted on it,” she said. “Every time I called them, they said they would call me back. But they never did.”

Don Diamond, chairman of the Calabasas Lake Committee, which is under the CPHA, said Wednesday his organization has been under increasing pressure to get rid of the birds. At the same time, the geese were devouring newly planted aquatic plants at the lake, which has been undergoing restoration.

The association, Diamond said, asked the county to build a special pen to hold the geese until homes could be found for them. Morrison said his agency legally could not spend money to build the pen, because it would have benefited just a small percentage of homeowners.

“I’m sorry that it caused so many hard feelings,” said Foley. “But, I think we should put this behind us and move forward.

“And if the geese are not happy living in Bakersfield, then maybe they can fly home.”