I hate geese. They travel in their flocks, finding sanctuary in our neighborhoods, our cities, and our fields, only to be a nuisance to everything else around it. Geese are so annoying that cities and townships are willing to spend 10,000 to 60,000 dollars a year just to control them. The US and Canada federal governments spent exceptional amounts of taxpayers dollars just to control the population of geese. Despite this, harming these dumb birds in any way is made illegal by said governments. Every goose you see laying feces on your lawn is protected by the government. But why is so much geese control needed, why are they so annoying, and why are they protected despite this?

Like pigeons and house sparrows, geese are considered pest birds which are basically any bird that frequently causes harm to humans or property. The most well known way geese do this is their tendency to use the bathroom in recreational and private areas. They defecate up to 15 times per hour because of their high fiber diet consisting of roots, stems, and berries. When the ground is muddy, geese can get to the high fiber roots and rhizomes much easier, which means that their droppings might be more frequent after a big rainstorm. However their feces can cause much more damage than just making grass unpleasant. It frequently contaminates bodies of water and water systems, as well as carry many harmful diseases such as bird flu and cryptosporidiosis.       

Another commonly known issue with geese is their aggression, mainly because of how territorial they are. An animal being territorial doesn’t immediately mean that they attack humans often because people will usually just stay out of that territory. Geese on the other hand like to move from place to place constantly, so being territorial becomes a much bigger problem when they make their territory your lawn. Their intense behavior is especially prevalent in the breeding season in February and March, where geese are much more mindful of protecting their eggs and young. On top of that, they don’t back away from a challenge. Geese will attack anything from a mouse to a hippo, so don’t get so sure that you could remove the geese from the local park. They are much more confident. 

Why do they tend to inhabit such civilized areas though? Like pigeons, the more urbanized areas offer protection from predators, as well as plenty of food and water for geese. Geese territory also extends to the sky where along with ducks, become the number one cause of air traffic for airplanes, causing an average of around 64 accidents per year.

Finally, why are geese protected? In the early and mid 1900s, many pest birds were facing extinction. In fact, the Canadian goose was thought to be completely extinct in 1950. Oddly enough, this was mainly due to fashion trends during this time period that used the feathers and sometimes entire stuffed birds for many clothing items and adornments. This led to the Migratory Bird Treaty Act (MBTA), a treaty made to stop the killing of birds like the Canadian goose, and once a small group of geese was found in 1962, their newfound protection allowed them to repopulate. Now, governments actually have to kill some geese to limit their current overpopulation, so why after their massive comeback are they STILL protected. Being birds that travel between multiple countries, jurisdiction over their protection is held between not just the US, but Mexico, Japan, Canada, and Russia. This means that amending the international treaty is cumbersome at best, so put the broom down and let them stay in the yard.