Geese annoying boaters, walkers, says park users

By Jenny Fisher.

Boaters and people walking along Belleville’s waterfront are annoyed with the geese, says people using the city’s waterfront.

But, the city is limited in the ways it can fix the problem, says Parks Manager Larry Glover.

Wayne Peterson, a member of the Bay of Quinte Yatch Club said his main concern was that there were too many geese and that too many of any animal is a problem.

He said he hoped the city would find ways to discourage people from feeding the geese and possible even put up a small fence around the Victoria Park to keep them out.

The Canadian Wildlife Service estimates that there are more than 400,000 temperate breeding Canada Geese in Ontario.

Peterson is also concerned about the bird’s aggressive behavior. He worries about children coming into contact with them this time of year, fearing they may be attacked.

“[There] really nice when there’s not too many of them, when there’s too many of them there a total menace. They eat up the grass, mess up everything. Mess is another word for poop,” Peterson says

Parks manager Larry Glover says he has received a lot of complaints from people using the parks and boaters.

“It is a real problem, just the amount of feces they produce,” he said.

The geese are legally protected they don’t let animal control deal with them, he said. The city solves the geese problem by getting trained dogs to bark and scare the geese off the land into the water. The dogs don’t ever hurt the geese, he said.

Another concern with geese this time of year is the tendency to be territorial when they are with their babies walking around.

Peterson pointed out that you wouldn’t want any kids walking near them this time of year.

Eric Emerson a boat owner at Victoria Park Marina says that the problems with geese are just the usual for him. He says he is use to their aggressive behavior and hissing but the worst thing about them is the constant mess of poo they make.