March 15, 2000 1,000 Geese Die Near Roswell The Associated Press ROSWELL, N.M.  A pesticide is suspected of killing 800 to 1,200 geese east of Roswell and near the Bitter Lake National Wildlife Refuge, a state official said Wednesday.

 Preliminary examinations of the birds, mostly snow geese, found no signs of disease, said Bill Hays, field supervisor for the state Department of Game and Fish Roswell district.

 "We suspected at first we had avian cholera," said Ben Hanson, a wildlife information specialist with the agency in Roswell. But preliminary results from an Albuquerque laboratory turned up no sign of the disease, he said.

 The department is awaiting toxicology results from a Missouri lab, which could take up to two weeks, Hanson said. "What we're trying to do now is determine what killed them if it wasn't that disease," he said.

 Conservation officers first learned of the dying birds Sunday afternoon, Hays said Wednesday.

 Dead geese should be allowed to decay naturally and should not be salvaged or eaten, and pets should be kept away from the dead geese, he said.

 Hanson said, however, if a dead goose is causing a problem by being too close to a dwelling, people can call the Bitter Lake refuge or the department's Roswell office, he said.

http://www.abqjournal.com/news/1geese03-15-00.htm

-- Carl Jenkins (Somewherepress@aol.com), March 19, 2000