Ottawa and the NCC are scratching their heads for an answer to the burgeoning Canada goose population at local parks.
Anyone listening to CHEZ 106’s Doc & Woody Show this morning may have overheard my interview on the goose subject, where I used the expression:
“Massive Controlled Goose Cull”
Allow me to explain…for those who think it is widespread death and carnage I am speaking of.
By ‘Massive’ I meant a somewhat large scale operation as would be required – considering most area parks are inundated with Giant Canada geese and copious amounts of poop. This does not mean that every last goose should be eradicated; the population simply needs to be thinned out.
By ‘Controlled’ hunt, I am implying that CWS biologists and staff work with the City and NCC to establish a pre-determined number of birds which need to be harvested.
And harvested ethically I might add. None of this ‘oiling of the eggs’ stuff.
And finally, I realize that ‘Cull’ has become a somewhat evil 4-letter word in recent months, but really, is there any other feasible way of controlling birds capable of producing and depositing 1 KG of feces every day?
There has been some mention that ‘fish compost’ and allowing grass grow long, has had a small localized effect. But then what happens?
These opportunistic foul will simply get ‘bumped’ to another well manicured park in the area. It will be like musical chairs only with geese.
We are not getting to the root of the problem or addressing the real concern here.
As I mentioned this morning in my interview with Doc & Woody, these birds are not the ‘symbolic’ migratory variety of goose we have traditionally grown up with. Giant Canada’s are full-time residents and their numbers are only increasing.
Goose culls have taken place in other parts of Canada with success, but the question remains, is the City of Ottawa ready for such a bold (yet highly effective) tactic?
What do you think?
Outdoorsguy
I would be asbolutely floored if this ever happened in Ottawa. A town of govt workers, and the vast majority of the population has probably never set foot outside of the city limits. Most do not understand the laws of nature. Virtually no predators and ample food mean booming populations.There are too many animal lovers that would probably strap themselves to the geese to prevent any harm to them. Any intelligent, observant person can see that there numbers are getting (or are) out of control. I like to take my kids to Andrew Hayden Park. Too bad my youngest is still crawling, and that means crawling through goose poop. Never mind stepping in it all the time, no matter how you try to avoid it.
No, someone will probably come up with a trap and transfer idea that will cost us thousands of dollars, instead of doing the logical thing. I’m not saying we should let just anyone run around with guns a blazin’. But a cull is definitely in order.
An early goose season was introduced years ago to cut down on the population.
I could never get into hunting the first of September when it was 25C plus outside. I also wondered what
the early season did to the rest of the waterfowl population. Years ago (20-30 years) if we got a goose it was a big deal, now we get quite a few. They eat the same things a cow does and taste just as good, the problem is
they shit like a cow. They where putting gasoline on the eggs in Toronto and the population was still on the increase. There seems to be fewer and fewer waterfowl hunters every year.
imacdon: you, sure-shot dave and I, would be the first three to fall off our chairs if a ‘cull’ was set, but man what a precedent-setting move that would be!!
Outdoorsguy
won’t happen, simple as that, go talk to the lady that runs the Bylaw dept Susan Jones, I did about bow hunting inside city limits, she’s not a hunter and I doubt anyone in her deptatment is, not happening, it needs to, but it won’t, where I work there is a little park, probably 5 acres, covered in goose drops, can’t even walk there anymore
jeff i used to do a lot of goose hunting way back when lead was allowed. Once they brought steel in at $17-$25 a box and you had to hit them 3 times to break threw the feathers i said that’s enough. Now that there are improvements in the shells so they stay grouped better out to 30 or 40 yards i will be hunting them again.
An ethical hunt would be required for a few seasons. They could also allow more to be hunted (legal limit) during the open seasons (Spring and Fall).
More in the “slow-cooker” for me and the family, means no waste of breast and legs.
Let me know whenever one is declared. I”ll bring my own ammo.
😉
A few years back they had a simllar problem with Geese at a Pembroke Golf Course on the Ottawa River & they had a Controlled Hunt to reduce the numbers. The cull was co-ordinated with the proper authorities & the hunters
were restricted to the Aborginals of Golden Lake [ To my knowledge ]. It worked well.
The anarchist activists won’t let this happen. They should have left this discussion behind closed doors with the MNR and simply all for increased daily and possession bag limits. Currently there are only fall hunting seasons. (and early one which has increased bag limits and the later one). Not sure what impact a spring hunt would have, but I’m sure it would play right into the hands of the bear hunters….
Sorry Trapper, sort of off topic but I just heard about a Peterborough Police officer shot several multiple at a drug bust in Lindsay…apparently he’s in critical condition? That doesnt sound good at all.
What the heck is going on over there??
Outdoorsguy
@ Paul, the answer to the problems you’re having with the steel shot is to simply bring the geese in closer. This is accomplished with good location, good blind cover and good decoys. Add to that an 870 chambered for 3 1/2 inch shells and you won’t have a problem.
We now have several spring Snow Goose hunts so the possibility of a spring Canada Goose hunt exists. The main problem with a spring Canada hunt is the protection of several distinct populations of Canada’s that are threatened.
How you design a hunt to target the local population is the crux of the problem. If you wait until the migratory populations have passed through the locals will have young and the bleeding hearts will not allow a cull then.
The MNR has little to nothing to say about this hunt as it is a federal matter handled by the Canadian Wildlife Service. CWS set the regs for migratory waterfowl
Rick, if the City put forward a motion to CWS that we have an issue with geese..what sort of hurdles would there be to go through?
Apparently in Pembroke District, they had no problem asking the Golden Lake Aboriginals for help with the Pembroke goose overpopulation..now how does that happen so easily?? I wonder if Pembroke district MNR were involved with that one??
Outdoorsguy
but get a shoulder pad, or sand bags
the MNR has nothing to do with the goose problem and does not control the seasons it is the canadian wild life service it is federal and the reason our season is limited is due to a agreament with the united states.
ad bigger is not always better . i reload my own 12 gauge shells 1 oz traveling over 1700 feet per second and when you hit them with speed they fall… the old days of lead and a long shot string are gone. with steel your either on them or not.
Chessy, who said anything about the MNR?? Good to hear from you btw, was wondering where you had disappeared to.
Outdoorsguy
I pulled this off the Toronto Sun wed site, just goes to show you what we are dealing with
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TORONTO – In a bid to save animals’ skin, protesters showed off some of their own Tuesday.
Nearly nude volunteers from People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals were wrapped in plastic and smeared with fake blood in front of Quality Meat Packers Ltd. on Tecumseth St., near Bathurst and King Sts.
Their provocative poses were intended to mimic the meat packages in grocery aisles and butcher shops in an attempt to draw attention to the food industry’s treatment of animals.
“There’s very little difference between the meat that’s wrapped up on grocery store shelves and the human meat we have on display today,” said Natalie Fenton, meat-free for 14 years.
“As my five-year-old says, ‘I don’t eat my friends,’” volunteer Miriam Porter added.
Over two dozen protesters held up signs with slogans such as: “If Slaughterhouses Had Glass Walls…Go Vegan!” and “Meat Is Murder.”
Photographers, police and passers-by crowded the street were the biggest commotion is usually caused by the rumble of transport trucks hauling hogs to the meat packing facility.
Some residents complain about the noise, smell and impact on property value of the abattoir in the heart of their residential neighbourhood, but PETA members came with one thing in mind.
“Any publicity is good publicity,” Black said. “And I think that’s the PETA mandate, drawing attention to it by any means necessary.”
Some attendees arrived at the PETA point of view the long way.
“I was 310 pounds,” said a young man who identified himself as Richard. “I went vegan and I managed to lose 130 pounds with that. But I encountered many reasons why I should be vegan like animal rights, environmental reasons.”
The protest kicked of a series of similar PETA events that will see volunteers in cities across the country frozen in packaged poses of helplessness.
The graphic displays will reveal themselves at specially chosen sites between July 15 and Aug. 4.
“We’d like to pick the most meaty looking steakhouses,” said PETA campaigner Emily Lavender, whose current job involves following Prime Minister Stephen Harper around in a seal costume. “People will be eating their steak while seeing this blood and flesh.”
Quality Meat Packers declined comment on the protest.
Iggy, do you have an pics to go along with that article..hehe..ah man, these people must be on some heavy meds!
Outdoorsguy
Imacdon, are you seroius about the putting of Gas on the Goose Eggs in TO ?
Guess they don’t have any Enviro. Idiots down there….
Perhaps we could have the Maple Leafs & there Fans come up here in the Spring, since there never in the
Playoffs & have nothing to do, they could help out with the problem here ….
There use to leaving alot of places with ” Goose Eggs ” ….
lawrence, I know the practise of ‘oiling eggs’ has been carried out in certain areas to control numbers, that may be what imacdon is referring to.
Outdoorsguy
trapper mentioned that the mnr should discuss it with the people. thats why i brought up the cws .. trapper is off vacationing from what i seen jeff the officer is in stable condition and expected to make a full recovery
ps jeff had some personal issue to take care of .
Chessy, I was just kidding about the MNR. In my original post I had written that they should be involved in a cull; forgetting that as migratory birds geese are managed federally…l went back and changed MNR to CWS..
Glad to hear the officer is doing ok, but sad to hear that perhaps Lindsay has gone done hill since I was there.
Outdoorsguy
Jeff I suspect most CWS biologist wound support some sort of management but the political manoeuvring would be another thing.
Aboriginals have their own rules that I do not want to get into as there are a lot of people who are strongly opinionated about these issues.
Rick, what surprises me the most is that Pembroke was able to facilitate such a move..I suppose that they are far enough away from Ottawa to make it happen.
According to Lawrence, the controlled goose hunt on that golf course did make a difference..
Outdoorsguy
It was over 20 years ago when they started discouraging the goose population
in Toronto. Somebody thought it would be nice to have geese as a tourist attraction.
The problem was once they became established, they never migrated. They where a year
round nuisance. I’m pretty sure in the begining they were putting gasoline on the eggs but
it could have been oil.
http://mdc.mo.gov/landwater-care/wildlife-management/nuisance-animal-management/controlling-wild-geese/how-addle-and-o
Ok, its corn oil these use. For some reason I thought it was 10 W 30. Corn oil would be a lot more environmentally friendly, I’d think…well, friendly to everything other than goose eggs.
Outdoorsguy
No one will ever agree to a cull or whatever else you want to call it so I say trap them humanely, then while the press is writing the good news story, relocate them to freezers in a more controlled environment. Maybe play Bieber music until they commit goosicide.
PS. Why put the oil in the pan and then add the eggs….
Come on now Johan, that’s pretty damn cruel…Justin Bieber music..we just want to thin out the population not torture them to death!
Outdoorsguy
hundreds of homeless people would like a nice goose dinner
johan you might as well join peta…… i would rather deal with peta then bieber …. OH baby baby baby now thats in my head … how am i going to cull them geese now
Chessy, I’m impressed that you know the lyrics! Of course, like me, you have kids..so sadly I know the lyrics also…uggghh
You know how Cults like to blast heavy metal music to drive their followers nut, maybe we can blast the Bieber for geese!
Outdoorsguy
naw simple waterboarding works for me … i use this on my daughters “boy friends” especially when they say we are only friends …..heard that before
I’ve got girls too Chess, you better explain this waterboarding thing to me…I might need to use it eventually.
Outdoorsguy
Okay, maybe Bieber torture was unethical, nasty, and downright cruel, but it does make a lead injection seem more humane, no?
An older game warden told me that you could trap ducks using a length of stove pipe. Apparently if you attach a screen on one end, then put a corn trail into the open end it so that a duck can walk in but since he can’t turn around or walk backwards, you have him. Never tried it but could be a quiet and inexpensive way to get a goose dinner.
lol google it… some people on here may find it offensive 🙂 but it works ….
Yikes Chessy…I looked it up.
Lets just say if I were hanging around your place, I would be minding my P’s & Q’s!
Outdoorsguy
…Been on leave touring the States for 8 days. And I must say I am proud to be a Canadian.
Officer shot in Lindsay is OK and will recover.
Re: MNR: My bad, you are all correct that they have nothing to do with the goose issues.
Re: Egg oiling. They use mineral oil. What this does is prevent the eggs from hatching then apparently the parents responsible for them won’t return to this location the following year to raise their young.
@ Iggy, I saw that PETA article in the SUN, those people are mental…….
Heading to the trap cabin now…..CYA
Trapper, we travel the US quite a bit and always come home saying how its a great place to visit, but you wouldn’t want to live there.
Glad to hear you’re doing ok…have fun at camp you lucky bugger!
Outdoorsguy
chessy said: “hundreds of homeless people would like a nice goose dinner”
New York City is planning a large cull of Canada geese and plans to give the meat to the poor in Pennsylvania.
Here is a video link:
http://en.video.sympatico.ca/index.php/en/video/news/2/all-news-providers/151/ctv/720/feeding-homeless-with-geese-ethical/1020267417001
OK fishr, there ya go…if its good enough for the Big Apple, it should be good enough for us!
Outdoorsguy
so much waste . people are starving and we just destroy… i am not a bleeding hart by no means but blatant waste is horrible… pen em up get the government to inspect them and kill them .. i would be the first to donate 50 bucks for the butchers cost
I may have a answer to your problem if you consalt with MNR and our community it’s possable that we could use the geese for traditioal ceremonial goose feast.This could help control the pop Allso.(www.Ottawa Algonquin Frist Nation.com).