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'Let's think outside the box': Windsor exploring all options to control Canada goose population

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Staff with the City of Windsor are exploring all avenues to control the local Canada goose population after a member of council suggested the bird is becoming “a dangerous hazard.”

Ward 6 Coun. Jo-Anne Gignac asked administration for a report on the options, including a possible cull.

“Riverside Drive is becoming an absolute hazard,” Gignac said during Monday’s council meeting.

She said one of her constituents encountered a group of geese on the Ganatchio Trail while cycling, and explained he swerved to avoid them but was thrown from his bike. The incident sent him to hospital with a broken collarbone and six broken ribs.

Gignac said, “These flocks of geese just walking out into the road, people slamming on their brakes and it’s a mess!”

A cull would involve killing some of the geese to reduce or control the size of the population and would require approval from the Ministry of Natural Resources.

A Canada goose is seen in this generic image. (Source: Getty)

However, officials at the Jack Miner Migratory Bird Sanctuary in Kingsville believe a cull is unnecessary, and suggested a catch and release program would be better suited for the situation.

“We are opposed to the idea of a cull,” said Executive Director, Tom Coke. “The notion of a cull, I just don't think it's realistic. I don't think it's attainable and I don't think it's going to get the desired outcome.”

He explained, “The idea of a cull is a very old school idea. It isn't sustainable, it isn't realistic, and it definitely doesn't fit. And there are better options out there.”

Coke noted cities like Mississauga and Brampton have successfully worked with the sanctuary in the past to do goose relocation initiatives, where hundreds of geese are loaded up into a transport and brought to the sanctuary to then be reintroduced into a traditional migratory path.

“That has had some great success and that's a program that I'm very proud of, and I can only see it growing in future years,” Coke said.

The Jack Miner Migratory Bird Sanctuary in Kingsville, Ont. is seen on Jan. 16, 2024. (Chris Campbell/CTV News Windsor)

According to Coke, that approach saw a 50 to 70 per cent population reduction in those communities, and he believes Windsor could do the same with similar effect.

“It is worth that opportunity to pursue other options as opposed to just straight up assassinating the geese,” Coke said. “It's definitely a unique option and it's a unique opportunity to get the geese out of the city and back into a path.”

“Let's think outside the box,” he continued. “A Canada goose is actually a very misunderstood creature. They very rarely will attack people.”

Coke suggested Windsor also invest in wetland restoration, and believes the region to be the destination many Canada geese migrate to in the winter due to the mild winters with an abundance of open water and grass.

“By allowing them to come out to a place like the sanctuary, it encourages them to get into more traditional wildlife and traditional habitat areas,” he said. “They can link up with other groups, other flocks, and again, stop becoming an urban goose and become more of a traditional flyer.” 

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