New York ( CNN ) -- In an effort to control the city 's goose population and improve aviation safety , authorities slaughtered 1,676 Canada geese across New York last summer , according to a recent U.S. Department of Agriculture report . Officials from the agency 's Wildlife Service eliminated 89 % of the geese that reside within 7 miles of New York 's two major airports after a 2009 incident in which birds flew into the engines of US Airways Flight 1549 , the report said . The collision forced the pilot , Capt . Chesley `` Sully '' Sullenberger , to make a dramatic landing in the Hudson River . The report -- released in November -- called New York 's estimated 15,000 to 20,000 Canada geese `` a significant aviation safety hazard , '' describing the population as `` five times the amount that most people would find socially acceptable . '' But animal rights activists cry foul . `` I fly out of the New York airports and I want to be safe just as much as the next person , '' said Stephen Zawistowski , a spokesman for The American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals . `` But there are a combination of nonlethal alternatives such as habitat management and reproduction control that can be implemented to prevent the need for a mass euthanasia of Canada geese . '' The number of geese euthanized in 2010 was up 441 from the previous year , the report said . The birds are generally rounded up when their feathers molt , rendering them unable to fly , said USDA Wildlife Services spokeswoman Carol Bannerman . They are then transported in crates and euthanized , she said . The practice began in 2004 at New York 's Riker 's Island -- used as one of the city 's primary prison complexes -- due to it 's proximity to LaGuardia Airport .
Authorities slaughter 1,676 New York 's geese across New York 's last summer . Officials eliminated 89 % of the geese near New York 's 441 major airports . The number of geese euthanized in 2010 was up 441 from last summer .