Peachtree City officials are urging residents to stop feeding a local flock of Canada geese, as the birds’ numbers in a local park are getting out of hand -- again.
The Fayette County community is only the latest to report the big black-and-white birds becoming a problem because of their growing numbers and the goose droppings they leave behind on the lawns of parks and play fields.
A recent headcount by Channel 2 Action News found 70 geese at Peachtree City's Picnic Park, a recreation area on Lake Peachtree popular with families with children.
“The kids like to come and play with them and chase them around,” local resident Matthew Roberts said.
Another resident, parent Patrick Farrell, said the birds “don’t bite the children. They seem to be very friendly. There are a lot of them, though.”
It’s not the first time Peachtree City has had a goose problem. Several years ago, the park was overrun with about 200 resident geese -- birds that settled down rather than migrate. Besides causing a mess with their poop, geese are known to become aggressive with anyone they perceive to be a threat to their goslings.
City spokeswoman Betsy Tyler told Channel 2, “We paid about $1,500 in 2008 for a licensed representative of the state to humanely remove them and relocate them.”
Some residents are starting to complain the geese population is growing again. Hence, the do-not-feed-the-geese appeal.
“[Feeding] allows more of them to live in an area than a natural environment can support,” Tyler said.
Earlier this month, residents of a Snellville neighborhood accused state wildlife officials of not doing enough about an exploding population of geese fouling their lawns.
The state’s resident Canada goose population today is estimated at 45,000. Much of the population growth is occurring in metro Atlanta, drawn by the region’s freshly manicured lawns.
State Department of Natural Resources policy is to urge residents to first try deterrents -- scare tactics, chemical repellents, squirting a water hose at the birds or, for those willing to spend the money, getting specially trained dogs to chase them away.
When everything else fails, individuals, homeowners associations or local governments can petition DNR for a nuisance control permit to allow trapping and relocation. Killing the birds is considered a last resort.
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