Canada Geese in the Puget Sound Region - a Brief History

In the late-1990s through the first few years of this decade, Canada Geese were rounded up and killed each summer in Seattle's public parks (and at other locations, such as the University of Washington campus) as part of regional efforts to control their numbers. Urban wildlife are understandably attracted to the lush green spaces and easy access to water that many of the parks offer. Unfortunately, geese have come to be viewed by some as nuisance animals, mainly because of the copious amounts of feces they leave on beaches, play fields, and park lawns.

A Program to Promote Humane Alternatives to Killing

The "lethal removal" of geese has been opposed by PAWS and The Humane Society of the United States (HSUS), who in 2004 developed and launched a pilot program to help Seattle Parks and Recreation explore humane methods of managing the conflict between geese and people in some of the city's most popular recreation areas. The goal of the PAWS/HSUS partnership is to see this program evolve into a permanent replacement for the "lethal removal" of geese in Seattle parks, and to serve as a model for other communities experiencing similar conflicts with wildlife.

The Seattle Goose Program wrapped up a three-year pilot project in September 2006, and PAWS is pleased to report that our combined efforts toward humanely solving human-goose conflicts at select public beaches and parks around Seattle has been deemed a success. We've laid the foundation for a program that will be fully-integrated within Seattle Parks and Recreation with continued support from PAWS and The HSUS as well as members of the community.

Moratorium Remains for 2007

Thanks to the hard work and dedication of phenomenal volunteers throughout the three-year pilot, the moratorium on the "lethal removal" of Canada Geese from Seattle's public parklands continues through at least the end of 2007. As progress continues on a multi-year program, PAWS is hopeful a formal moratorium will be made permanent and neighboring communities will join a region-wide humane program.

Program Methods

As PAWS and HSUS work with Seattle Parks and Recreation in creating a multi-year program, here are some of the humane methods of managing conflicts with geese we hope to see regularly employed.

• Locating goose nesting sites so eggs can be addled by trained volunteers and personnel (treated with corn oil in order to keep them from developing and hatching).
• Using light-emitting "laser" devices, goose-deterring kites, and trained dog teams to encourage geese to leave the most problematic areas.
• Cleaning goose poop from the beaches and recreation areas used most by people—this helps reduce complaints about geese making parks and beaches unusable by the public.
• Educating the public concerning conflict resolution with geese and effective, humane methods used.
• Exploring additional humane techniques designed to move geese away from high-impact areas, such as habitat modification.

How You Can Help

You can help by letting your local community leaders know how important humane management of conflicts with geese and other urban wildlife is to you. Encourage your community to join in on these efforts. To learn more about humane goose management models, visit the Humane Society of the United States or Geese Peace.

Thank you for your support!

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