Canadian Geese Are Taking Over

Where I live in Illinois, it is not unusual to see flocks of Canadian Geese filling the air. Many times these flocks can be viewed during the Fall season. However, recently they have been seen throughout the year. In some places they are becoming a major nuisance.

In recent years the Canadian geese population has grown and continues to do so. In 2008, the town of Wellsburg, West Virginia had a major health issue with the geese. They would gather on the high school football field and leave droppings.

The State of Oregon claims to have one of the worst and largest geese problems in the US. Geese do millions of dollars of damage each year. They destroy and ruin crops. They are a major safety problem at airports.

The community of Waverly in the Chesapeake area was warned by the Federal Protection Agency about their geese problem. Geese droppings were raising the ammonia levels at their sewage plant.

The city of St. Louis, Missouri often has traffic problems because of geese crossing the roads and holding up automobile traffic. They also are covering and causing damage to local golf courses.

One goose can eat up to four pounds of grass a day and leave up to three pounds of droppings. Multiply that by 50 to 100 geese and you got major issues.

Wild Geese are currently protected by State, Federal and International law. Some places have asked the USDA Wildlife Service for assistance. However, there are just too many geese to be handled. In some cases, they are moved to bird sanctuaries and federal wildlife preserves.

This protection and the reduction in wildlife predators have let the geese population grow. Besides relocating geese, loud sounding horns can be used. Harsh chemicals, dogs and reflectors of all types have been used. A new product recently introduced is the Away with Geese.

There are many farms throughout the United States and Canada that have small ponds that let these geese populations continue to grow. Hunting seasons and takes are very strict, when it comes to wild geese.

State and Federal agencies have been taking the wild geese problem seriously. However, they still want to restrict the hunting and taking of these birds. Some advocates of geese disposal would like to have longer hunting seasons. They claim that they could be killed a dressed and given those that would eat them.

The hunting of wild geese has changed. Years ago, they were hunted for food. Now days, they are hunted as a game sport.

Until everyone gets a handle on how to handle the problem, it will continue to exist and even grow.