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Depression
The Healing Power of Geese and Other Animals
Geese and other animals can lift people out of depression and a "deep funk."
Posted June 30, 2019
Geese are amazing nonhuman animals (aka animals). These migratory birds are attracted to urban settings that offer what biologists call "optimal habitat," places where they can find favored food and in which they're able to rest. Humans are usually the reason why geese go where they go, and when they become a nuisance, some humans favor culling them. Of course, "culling" is a way to sanitize what they're really doing, and that is killing them. Sometimes those responsible for these killing sprees or those who carry them out say they're euthanizing whoever is on their hit list. This also is misleading because euthanasia refers to mercy killing because an individual is in interminable pain or incurably ill. It's the last and most difficult choice that people have to make, and geese who are being killed in Denver are healthy bird beings. I am very pleased to be a member of the governor-appointed Colorado People for Animal Welfare panel (PAW), and I want to stress that I am writing as an individual and do not speak for the panel as a whole. (See "Colorado Takes the Lead on Helping Animals and People" and "Colorado Proclaims Statewide Annual Animal Welfare Day.")
The lethal goose management program in Denver, Colorado is well underway. The city of Denver is working with the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) and people have rather different views on their being killed. (See "Denver is capturing geese from city parks to be killed and given to hungry families," "Denver Residents Have Mixed Reaction To Geese Population Control," "The USDA has begun catching geese across Denver parks and shipping them to be processed as food," and "Denver is rounding up geese to be killed and donated as meat to needy families.") Some people think it's just fine, however, when they're more informed some become less enamored with the blood bath. I'm against the killing on ethical and biological grounds. There surely are non-lethal humane ways to control goose populations and it's a short term "feel good" solution because the problem reoccurs yearly. Killing basically creates a vicious and violent cycle. Indeed, "Working with the United States Department of Agriculture’s, the park authority aims to kill a maximum of 2,200 geese each year." Once humans become part of the equation, in many cases they have to always be part of the equation, and this means the killing goes on and on.
The healing power of geese: Wild urban animals can provide meaningful emotional support and improve humans' well-being
Using the geese to feed needy families also is raising many questions. Denver resident Howard Turk notes, “I think supporting underprivileged people is noble, but killing wild geese to feed those, sounds ridiculous." I'm also a fan of helping needy people along, but it also feels like a "feel good" sales pitch to use this as a reason to kill the geese. Along these lines, I received the following email: "I used to be in the food business, and I know that most people, especially the so-called hungry families, don't much cook anymore, and when they do, they cook beef, chicken, pork and some fish. They aren't going to be cooking and eating geese. So the claim that hungry families are being fed may be a dubious one." They went on about wanting to know more details about how the people would be fed.
Mr. Turk lives near where the geese are being rounded up and says, "having the geese around is part of the joy that comes with being outdoors." (Also see "How a Canada goose changed my life, influencing even the direction of my career.") Many people love to be around other animals and their loss means a lot to them because they truly find peace and solace in their presence. I received a few emails from people in this camp, and one person noted that when they go out into nature it helps them liven up and helps to get them "out of their deep funk in a very meaningful way."
Among the emails I received in which the writers expressed a similar sentiment, one that came in really moved me, and I quote it with the writer's permission. Anna wrote:
"Hello. Thank you for being against the culling of the Wash Park geese. I have watched them in the dawn hours many many times. I am so sad that they were killed. I took thousands of pictures of them. I am too sad now to walk to the park. Has there been any study that you know of, of the psychological implications of killing all of these lovely birds that people have grown to know and love? One reason I walk is to help with depression, and the geese being gone make me so sad."
I wrote back letting Anna know that I deeply appreciated her connection to the geese and she immediately responded:
"I am actually grieving right now, as I unknowingly documented the geese for almost a year and a half. I didn’t realize how strong of a connection I had to them, until I drove around the park and saw them gone. I adored the geese and delighted in them building nests in the trees. Hissing at me or a dog that I was walking. Covered with snow. Sleeping and stretching in the morning. Herding their babies."
I've reread Anna's note countless times and each time I fully understand what the loss of the geese has meant to her. I'm sure she is not alone.
We often recognize the importance of other animals only after they're gone and we realize what they really meant to us
It was the exchange with Anna and a few others that led me to write this essay. Mr. Turk's saying "having the geese around is part of the joy that comes with being outdoors" also played a role. There's ample evidence from many scientific studies that being out in nature is good for many, if not most people, and that the presence of nonhumans and just being outdoors can have positive effects on their health and well-being. (For two interviews I did with authors of excellent books on this topic see "The Biophilia Effect: Exploring the Healing Power of Nature" and "How Nature Awakens Our Creativity, Compassion, and Joy.") In the second interview about his landmark book Renewal: How Nature Awakens Our Creativity, Compassion, and Joy, Andrés Edwards notes that research by psychologists, neuroscientists, and educators into the positive effects of spending time in nature validates that being in nature feels good and is rejuvenating. In addition to the benefits of being in nature, Renewal describes the power of developing an emotional connection to nature. This connection, which often starts during our childhood, plays a critical role in how we care for the natural world later in life. (Also see Clemens Arvay's The Healing Code of Nature: Discovering the New Science of Eco-Psychosomatics and Lydia Denworth's recent Psychology Today essay "How Much Time In Nature Is Needed to See Benefits?" )
Geese and other animals aren't unfeeling objects, and at the end of the day, killing them and other animals sets up a horrific precedent for the future. And, as many biologists and others know, it doesn't work in the long run. If it did, many of the problems with which we're faced wouldn't repeat themselves annually as they frequently do. I hope that the people who want to kill the geese will also take into account how it negatively affects people, and that they also will also choose other methods to control local populations. Or, they could just leave them be.
Anna's note really hit the proverbial nail on the head, namely, that the presence of nonhumans can have very meaningful positive effects on humans' well-being. And, as some others also recalled, they didn't fully realize how powerful and meaningful the presence of geese and other local animals really was until they were gone.
Their stories and others reminded me of Rachel Carson's classic book Silent Spring. People didn't realize the impact of environmental poisons, including pesticides, until the birds stopped singing and there was haunting and unprecedented silence. I also keep replaying what Anne wrote: "I am actually grieving right now, as I unknowingly documented the geese for almost a year and a half. I didn’t realize how strong of a connection I had to them until I drove around the park and saw them gone."
I'm fortunate to have people write to me about their interconnections with other animals. There's a lot of food for thought here for people who study animal-human relationships, including conservation psychologists and anthrozoologists.
Stay tuned further discussions about the importance of being in nature with other animals and with various landscapes. I fully realize that not everyone necessarily benefits from these encounters, but if you do, do them to your heart's content. Nothing is lost and much is gained by appreciating the presence of the amazing animal beings with whom we share out magnificent planet.
Update: Concerning the "feeding the needy" claim, I just received this image that apparently has been taken down.
Afterword:
While I was outlining this piece, I went out for a bike ride to get a better handle on what I wanted to write. Cycling and being outside always helps me organize things in my head. A few minutes into my ride I came across two people who were standing in the middle of the road waving for me to slow down. When I did, I saw what was going on: There was a huge, magnificent turtle in the middle of the road who had apparently climbed out of a local creek and wound up stranded on the hot pavement.
I stopped, I chatted with the people to see what was going on, I went over to the turtle to tell him that we were going to help him, and I tried to move him off the road. He didn't like this at all and clearly let me know. I then called the Sheriff's department and they called Animal Control. After a while, the turtle was rescued and relocated to a local pond. As I told some people about this turtle rescue, they noted that I was smiling and, as one put it, I was really excited that the turtle had been saved. I was indeed. Seeing the turtle was one thing, but helping s/he along was another. And it also was the same for the other people who were involved. It really made our day! And, although I felt just fine before my ride, the rest of the day was much better. The turtle was saved and I was fortunate enough to have met her/him.
