Now that spring is here and so many people are out enjoying Richmond's parks, the city’s Department of Parks, Recreation and Community Facilities is once again asking the public not to feed the geese in Byrd Park.
“While the Canada geese are beautiful and feeding them may be fun, it is not healthy for our parks or for the geese,” said J.R. Pope, director of the department.
Canada geese are migrating birds. Feeding them encourages them to stop migrating and leads to the domestication of these wild animals. The result of this is an overpopulation of geese in the park, which in turn causes environmental damage to the park, creates unsanitary conditions, adds pollutants to the lakes, and can result in diseased flocks that spread diseases to other animals. In addition, human food is not appropriate for the geese and in the long-term can result in deformities.
Geese that do not migrate also rapidly loose their fear of humans and can become very territorial and aggressive.
The department began using border collies to help control the goose population in Byrd Park in 2008 and has brought them back this year. The dogs are trained to target Canada geese and chase them, which encourages their migration without harming them.
“By feeding the geese, the public is undoing everything we are trying to do to keep our parks well-maintained and enjoyable to visit,” said Pope, who recommends that the public enjoy watching the geese or photographing them instead of feeding them. “Nobody wants to come to a park and wade through the goose droppings,” he said.
Canada geese are not to be confused with domestic geese and ducks. They can be identified by their long black necks.
