Option for goose kill before city council

Canada geese in Vernon may soon have a target on their backs.

The issue of a growing geese numbers will be before city council Monday, with a staff report providing one option of a $41,000 ‘kill’ program to eliminate up to 150 of the birds.

“Although this initiative will eliminate approximately 100-150 geese in the area, it may be unpopular with the public,” Kendra Kryszak, parks and public spaces manager, said. “The kill day would be during the period when the geese moult; mid to late June. They would be rounded up into a trailer and taken to a location to be dispatched.”

The city is currently part of an egg addling program and uses scare tactics like air horns and dogs, but geese numbers continue to grow especially at Kin Beach where 145 geese were observed in 2019 surveys.