Officials from the U.S. Department of Agriculture collected more than 750 Canada geese from the Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge in New York City on Monday, in an effort supporters say will improve safety at the nearby airports.

“We could not afford to sit back and wait for a catastrophe to occur before cutting through bureaucratic red tape between federal agencies,” said U.S. Sen. Kirsten E. Gillibrand, D-N.Y. “We are finally taking action to help reduce bird strikes and save lives.”

The removal follows the clearing of about 200 Canada geese from two landfills in the city in June.

La Guardia and JFK airports saw increases of 28 percent and 53 percent, respectively, in bird strikes between 2009 and 2011

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