![\"Canada](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.animals24-7.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/Picsart_25-05-14_18-41-43-655-e1747276628137.jpg?ssl=1\")
<\/a><\/p>\n(Beth Clifton collage)<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n LANSING,\u00a0 Michigan\u2013\u2013<\/strong>Michigan Department of Natural Resources director Scott Bowen on May 9,\u00a0 2025 \u201cpaused\u201d scheduled massacres of \u201cnuisance\u201d non-migratory Canada geese,\u00a0 in favor of \u201calternative options for managing human-goose conflicts and health and safety concerns.\u201d<\/p>\n Possible translation:\u00a0 the Michigan Department of Natural Resources may have finally figured out,\u00a0 ahead of most wildlife agencies,\u00a0 that neither killing nor relocating non-migratory Canada geese lastingly resolves goose issues.<\/p>\n Scott Bowen.\u00a0 <\/strong>(Beth Clifton collage)<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n The Bowen decree has indirect national implications.\u00a0 Almost every U.S. state has reported issues with \u201cnuisance\u201d non-migratory Canada geese.<\/p>\n What Michigan does,\u00a0 moreover,\u00a0 will likely be emulated\u2013\u2013especially if successful.<\/p>\n The Michigan Department of Natural Resources,\u00a0 begun when a state game warden was hired in 1887,\u00a0 formally made a state department in 1921,\u00a0 is among the oldest,\u00a0 largest,\u00a0 and most influential wildlife agencies in the U.S.<\/p>\n Michigan wildlife management policies thereby often become the default policies for many other states,\u00a0 and frequently become federal policy as well.<\/p>\n In lieu of killing problematic non-migratory Canada geese,\u00a0 the Michigan Department of Natural Resources in recent years has relocated as many as 10,000 geese per year,\u00a0 staff waterfowl expert Kaitlyn Barnes told media.<\/p>\n (Beth Clifton collage)<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n This was in keeping with long-standing Michigan state policy of maintaining large populations of \u201cgame\u201d species,\u00a0 including Canada geese, \u00a0both migratory and non-migratory,\u00a0 to encourage hunting license sales.<\/p>\n The difference between migratory and non-migratory Canada geese is that the migratory variety are as nature made them,\u00a0 fly high,\u00a0 fly mostly at night,\u00a0 and are relatively hard to hit with shotgun pellets.\u00a0 Non-migratory Canada geese look almost identical to the migratory variety,\u00a0 but decades ago were hybridized with domestic geese to produce bigger,\u00a0 fatter,\u00a0 heavier,\u00a0 slower and lower-flying birds who almost could be hunted with a bean shooter.<\/p>\n (Beth Clifton photo)<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n The preferred habitat of non-migratory Canada geese,\u00a0 however,\u00a0 is mowed suburban grass lawns,\u00a0 parks,\u00a0 ballfields and golf courses,\u00a0 where any discharge of firearms more deadly than bean shooters is illegal.<\/p>\n USDA Wildlife Services over the past decade has pursued a Canada goose policy parallel to that of the Michigan Department of Natural resourdes, \u00a0killing between 21,000 and 27,000 non-migratory Canada geese per year,\u00a0 mostly near airports,\u00a0 while \u201cdispersing\u201d between 590,000 and 1.2 million.<\/p>\n \u201cDispersed\u201d geese include those who flee shotgun blasts,\u00a0 those who flee any humans with guns,\u00a0 and those who are relocated by whatever means.<\/p>\n Dispersing and relocating non-migratory Canada geese seemed to work more effectively than just trying to kill them\u2013\u2013for a while.<\/p>\n (Beth Clifton collage)<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n Then the H5N1 avian influenza hit,\u00a0 incubated mainly among migratory waterfowl,\u00a0 transmitted into domestic bird flocks,\u00a0 mainly chickens,\u00a0 with non-migratory Canada geese among the major vectors.<\/p>\n More than 166 million domestic chickens have been killed to try to stamp out H5N1 outbreaks,\u00a0 sending the price of hens\u2019 eggs soaring and making egg prices a volatile national political issue.<\/p>\n With the 2024 national election looming,\u00a0 the Michigan Natural Resources Commission,\u00a0 appointed by Michigan governor Gretchen Whitmer,\u00a0 a Democrat,\u00a0 on October 10,\u00a0 2024 voted unanimously to kill all Canada geese removed from Michigan lakes in 2025,\u00a0 out of concern that they might contribute to spreading H5N1 and other high pathogenic avian flu strains.<\/p>\n But the \u201ckill\u201d policy proved unpopular,\u00a0 and somewhat self-contradictory,\u00a0 as well,\u00a0 if the ultimate concern was preventing human exposure to H5N1,\u00a0 which is potentially lethal to humans as well as birds.<\/p>\n Canada geese.\u00a0 (Beth Clifton collage)<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n Recounted Detroit News<\/em> reporter Craig Mauger, \u201cThe pilot proposal passed by the commission allowed for the \u2018roundup of Canada geese and their goslings and lethally gassing them inside portable gas chambers.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n The idea,\u00a0 summarized Mary Walrath-Holdridge for USA Today<\/em>,\u00a0 citing the Canada Goose Program as described on the Michigan DNR website, included as an \u201cend goal\u201d to allow entities having geese killed \u201cto pay to have meat from the geese processed, \u00a0tested,\u00a0 \u00a0and donated\u201d to food banks and soup kitchens, \u00a0\u201cbut in the meantime,\u201d\u00a0 Walrath-Holdridge said, \u00a0\u201cthe corpses would go to landfills.\u201d<\/p>\n Democratic legislators including Michigan Senate Natural Resources & Agriculture Committee members Dayna Polehanki and Sue Shink,\u00a0 expressed their disapproval on April 22,\u00a0 2025.<\/p>\n Polehanki, \u00a0Shink, \u00a0and colleagues called the gassing a \u201cdisproportionate, \u00a0inhumane response,\u201d\u00a0 Mauger summarized,\u00a0 \u201cto nuisance complaints that were \u2018mainly about goose droppings\u2019 at places like parks, \u00a0businesses, \u00a0condominium complexes, \u00a0subdivisions, \u00a0golf courses and lake associations.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n (Beth Clifton photo)<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n Objected Polehanki, \u00a0Shink, \u00a0et al<\/em>,\u00a0 \u201cIf allowed to proceed, \u00a0the Department of Natural Resources, \u00a0with Natural Resources Commission authorization, \u00a0will annually round up potentially 10,000 or more Canada geese and their goslings in their natural habitat during their summer molt (June and July) when they are flightless.\u201d<\/p>\n The killing policy,\u00a0 Polehanki, \u00a0Shink, \u00a0et al<\/em> continued,\u00a0 \u201cviolates the very principles of ethical wildlife stewardship that should guide wildlife management in our state and devalues life in our shared ecosystems.<\/p>\n \u201cThe mission of the Department of Natural Resources\u2019 Wildlife Division is to \u2018enhance, restore, and conserve the state\u2019s wildlife resources, \u00a0natural communities, \u00a0and ecosystems for the benefit of current and future generations.<\/p>\n Michigan senator Dayna Polehanki.<\/strong><\/em> \u201cThat mission cannot coexist with a policy that relies on inhumane killing, \u00a0nor can it coexist with a disregard for the voices of Michiganders \u00a0who oppose the gassing of geese due to nuisance complaints,\u201d\u00a0 Polehanki, \u00a0Shink, \u00a0et al<\/em> concluded.<\/p>\n Observed Mauger,\u00a0 \u201cBowen\u2019s response letter,\u201d\u00a0 pausing the killing, \u00a0\u201ccame a week before the May 16,\u00a0 2025 deadline for people to apply for permits to transport, \u00a0capture, \u00a0hold , and euthanize Canada geese,\u201d\u00a0 who \u201ccan be captured only during the summer flightless period of approximately June 1 through July 1, \u00a0according the website of the Michigan Department of Natural Resources.<\/p>\n Wrote Bowen,\u00a0 \u201cAfter further consideration with our wildlife staff, \u00a0we have decided to pause the program for this year and will not be issuing any permits or conducting this work on any sites.<\/p>\n Michigan senator Sue Shink.\u00a0 (X.com)<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n \u201cWe will continue to encourage and prioritize non-lethal techniques for landowners,\u201d\u00a0 Bowen promised,\u00a0 \u201cincluding habitat modification, \u00a0elimination of feeding, \u00a0scare tactics, \u00a0repellents, \u00a0and nest\/egg destruction.\u00a0 It is important for the health and safety of our citizens and the management of our natural resources,\u201d \u00a0Bowen said,\u00a0 \u201cthat we continue to use the goose management tools at our disposal.\u201d<\/p>\n The Michigan Department of Natural Resources estimates the current state Canada goose population at more than 300,000,\u00a0 counting both migratory and non-migratory flocks.<\/p>\n \u201cState wildlife managers seek to keep the bird\u2019s population in Michigan in the 175,000 to 225,000 range and regulate that number through annual hunts,\u201d\u00a0 noted Detroit Free Press<\/em> reporter Jalen Williams.<\/p>\n (Beth Clifton collage)<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n A letter-and-email campaign orchestrated by the national advocacy organizations In Defense of Animals and United Poultry Concerns emphasized that if Michigan has an overpopulation of non-migratory Canada geese,\u00a0 it was manufactured by the Michigan Department of Natural Resources itself.<\/p>\n \u201cThe Department of Natural Resources points the finger of blame at overpopulation,\u201d\u00a0 said United Poultry Concerns in a March 29,\u00a0 2025 Facebook posting, \u00a0\u201cbut readily disregards the mismanagement of the population for the sake of hunting.<\/p>\n \u201cIn fact, the Department of Natural Resources actually gave a Partner in Conservation Award to [former Michigan state university wildlife biologist] Joe Wilbur Johnson,\u201d\u00a0 who died in 2012, \u00a0\u201cfor not only bringing in trumpeter swan eggs from Alaska, \u00a0but also for bringing the resident Canada goose into Michigan for the sole purpose of hunting.\u201d<\/p>\n (Beth Clifton collage)<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n The Michigan Department of Natural Resources and USDA Wildlife Services \u201chave slaughtered over 8,500 mute swans in Michigan,\u201d\u00a0 United Poultry Concerns recounted,\u00a0 \u00a0\u201cbecause they claim they are non-native and are invasive,\u201d\u00a0 potentially interfering with trumpeter swan and Canada goose nesting, \u201cand yet plan to slaughter thousands of native Canada geese, \u00a0who are also federally protected, \u00a0whatever that means. The swans should have chased them all off if what the DNR is claiming is true.\u201d<\/p>\n The United Poultry Concerns position is,\u00a0 however,\u00a0 somewhat of a garble.<\/p>\n Mute swans and all Canada geese were formerly protected by the Migratory Bird Treaty Act of 1918,\u00a0 but Congress amended the Migratory Bird Treaty Act in 2004 to exclude mute swans and non-migratory Canada geese,\u00a0 among a long list of other \u201cinvasive\u201d species, \u00a0from coverage.<\/p>\n (Beth Clifton photo)<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n Non-migratory giant Canada geese are not only no longer protected since the Migratory Bird Treaty Act amendments of 2004, \u00a0but have now been #1 among waterfowl on USDA Wildlife Services\u2019 hit list for more than 20 years,\u00a0 even though dispersal is officially the Wildlife Services preferred response to non-migratory Canada goose problems.<\/p>\n Unlike migratory Canada geese, \u00a0non-migratory Canada geese are descended from wild Canada geese who were live-trapped and penned with domestic geese to produced lookalike hybrids,\u00a0 widely used as live decoys by Canada goose hunters in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.<\/p>\n After the Migratory Bird Treaty Act was enforced to prohibit use of live decoys in 1935, confiscated decoy geese were bred and stocked by both the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service and state wildlife agencies from the 1940s into the mid-1990s to create huntable populations in habitat then deemed suitable for waterfowling, \u00a0in rural areas close to big cities.<\/p>\n Many and perhaps most of these areas were subsequently swallowed by suburban sprawl,\u00a0 becoming off limits to hunting.<\/p>\n (Beth Clifton collage)<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n \u201cSeveral communities have successfully implemented humane strategies to manage Canada goose populations,\u201d\u00a0 offered Animal Politics<\/em> blogger Ed Boks in a June 28,\u00a0 2024 installment called \u201cThe Canada Goose Conundrum.\u201d<\/p>\n Boks mentioned \u201cegg addling, \u00a0which involves coating eggs with oil to prevent them from hatching\u201d;\u00a0 the use of trained dogs, \u00a0such as border collies, \u00a0which mimic natural predators;\u00a0 encouraging geese to relocate to safer, more suitable habitats\u201d;\u00a0 \u201cplanting tall grasses or shrubs along shorelines to obstruct sight lines and create a sense of insecurity for the birds, \u00a0as well as reducing the amount of mowed lawn near water bodies\u201d;\u00a0 and \u201ceducating the public about the importance of not feeding geese,\u201d\u00a0 since \u201cFeeding geese can exacerbate the problem by encouraging them to congregate in large numbers and become dependent on human-provided food, \u00a0which is often nutritionally inadequate.\u201d<\/p>\n These methods,\u00a0 also offered by the late Guy Hodge in the HSUS Pocket Guide To The Humane Control of Wildlife in Cities and Towns<\/em>, \u00a0published in 1991,\u00a0 and in many more recent wildlife control manuals,\u00a0 have in common that they are preventive,\u00a0 but\u2013\u2013except for the use of dogs\u2013\u2013relatively ineffective in \u201cdispersing\u201d non-migratory Canada geese who have already nested in what they deem to be favorable habitat.<\/p>\nPressure from In Defense of Animals & United Poultry Concerns contributes to policy change<\/em><\/span><\/h2>\n
<\/a><\/p>\nNational implications<\/h2>\n
<\/a><\/p>\nMigratory vs. non-migratory<\/h2>\n
<\/a><\/p>\nPreferred habitat<\/h2>\n
<\/a><\/p>\nH5N1 brought \u201ckill\u201d policy<\/h2>\n
<\/a><\/p>\n\u201cDisproportionate,\u00a0 inhumane response\u201d<\/h2>\n
<\/a><\/p>\n\u201c10,000 or more Canada geese & their goslings\u201d<\/h2>\n
<\/a><\/p>\n
(sendaynapolehanki Instagram photo)<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n\u201cDisregard for the voices of Michiganders\u201d<\/h2>\n
<\/a><\/p>\n\u201cWe will continue to encourage and prioritize non-lethal techniques\u201d<\/h2>\n
<\/a><\/p>\nManufactured overpopulation<\/h2>\n
<\/a><\/p>\nMute swans vs. Canada geese<\/h2>\n
<\/a><\/p>\nLive decoys<\/h2>\n
<\/a><\/p>\nHumane strategies<\/h2>\n