Sault Ste. Marie looks at plan to get goose droppings under control

Meeting on Monday, city council in Sault Ste. Marie directed staff to look into developing a goose management plan.

The birds can be aggressive and their droppings are prolific in many areas of the city.

City Coun. Angela Caputo said you need look no further than city hall to see something should be done.

“In my opinion and in the opinion of many folks who I've spoken to the parking lot at city hall is a great example of you to walk through without finding yourself stepping in goose droppings,” Caputo said.

“The boardwalk, Clerguw Park, Bellevue Park. Now that I have a little one, I can see first-hand. It is hard to manage a little kid at Bellevue Park who just wants to run through the grass and is being hissed at.”

• Download our app to get local alerts on your device
• Get the latest local updates right to your inbox

She said the geese have a big wingspan that can be dangerous for anyone who gets too close.

“While our staff has done their best, I think, to manage this, you know, stats from Canada.ca tells us that just in southern Ontario alone, there are over a million geese,” Caputo said.

“I feel like there are a million in the Sault. But I think it's just a problem that that has gotten out of hand and out of reach of where our staff can manage it.”

Scare gun not so scary to geese

She said the scare gun in use at Bellevue Park is not scary to the birds anymore.

“So I'm hoping that we can take back our beautiful assets and that people are going to be able to use them again,” she said.

“When I posted about this on social media. I got a huge response from so many people saying, ‘We can't walk the dogs down there. They can't bring your kids down there.’ They're not using our assets. And that's really upsetting to me, especially given that we live in a (snowy) climate for so much of the year.”

The Sault is not alone. Greater Sudbury has a budget for managing geese. Toronto moves geese to more remote areas every year. Ottawa has tried drones, while other cities have used lasers and pyrotechnics.

Caputo said she hopes the Sault can find a solution.

“Once the snow melts, I really hope that humans and citizens in Sault Ste. Marie can use these assets to full potential,” she said.

“So I'm hoping that by putting a goose management plan in place, we will be able to see that through soon enough.”