The City of Vancouver wants to reduce the number of Canada geese throughout the city, and they're hoping locals will help out.
A Canada Geese Management Plan is being developed, according to a press release from the city's parks board, as the local birds - which can get to be over 14 lbs. and 3.5 feet in length - are impacting park users (people) and inhabitants (not people). The board says they eat young grass, can be vicious when they are with goslings, and poop. A lot.
"Canada geese have inefficient digestive systems and produce more excrement for their size and the amount they eat than most other species. Wedding venues in parks and gardens struggle with keeping the areas clean of goose droppings, as do water parks," states the board in the release.
The parks board estimates there are 3,500 resident Canada geese in the city and that number is growing, as there aren't any natural predators in the city and the climate is welcoming. Also, human food isn't helping.
“Supplemental feeding by humans can also contribute to geese being able to lay more than one clutch of eight eggs per season; meaning that if one clutch does not hatch, they can replace it. In nature, without food from humans, this wouldn’t happen,” says, Dana McDonald, the Environmental Stewardship Coordinator.
Now the parks board has created a website for people to report geese nests. The plan is for staff to remove nests and addle eggs (where the parks board replaces eggs in a nest with treated eggs). Parks staff have been addling eggs since the early-90s, but the number addled needs to grow to keep up with the geese population growth.
Both the BC SPCA and People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals have voiced support for the practice. Parks board staff have been authorized under the Environment Canada Under the Migratory Birds Convention Act to continue the population control efforts.
While geese gather in certain parts of the city (like parks) they don't necessarily nest there, which is why public reports of nesting geese are needed.
Nest can be reported through the city's website or to the geese@vancouver.ca email address.
