Coun. Tim Lauer has the city’s rampant Canada goose population in his sights.
At Monday’s council meeting, the longtime Ward 4 councillor railed against the birds, pointing to an uptick in their activity at local parks and beaches.
“Anybody (who's been) in any park in this town this summer has to have noticed that there's been kind of an increase,” he said. “It seems that we go in a cycle. We get really aggressive about handling geese, and then it seems that we fade out a bit, and they come back.”
Lauer brought forward an inquiry motion with the hope of addressing the issue, winning his peers’ support for a staff report on the effectiveness of city geese prevention efforts and an overview of the city’s geese management program.
“It's a city-wide problem right now in both major parks, so I think this report will go a long way to answering a few questions, and we're going to receive it before budget, so we'll have a chance to respond,” he said.
Prior to the geese issue, Lauer requested a report on rising swim advisories at local beaches – an issue he blames, at least partially, on the rampant geese population around the city’s waterfront and parks.
“Couchiching Beach was closed, I think, almost every week this year, and I'm waiting for a report on where that pollution is coming from,” he said. “I'm pretty sure that the 30 geese I saw the other night inside the buoy line were part of the problem.”
Council supported Lauer’s idea, with Coun. Jay Fallis suggesting the city look at environmentally-friendly ways to deter the geese from city parks and beaches.
“(I’m) hoping that environmentally sensitive options are considered...” Fallis began.
“A green shotgun?” interjected Lauer.
Fallis said he had discussions with officials from Sustainable Orillia, and suggested one potential solution could be to naturalize certain portions of the shoreline to help deter geese.
“It might not be an opportunity in every scenario, but that can deter geese from nesting in certain areas, so that might be worth considering,” he said.
Other members of council, however, jokingly agreed with Lauer’s alternative.
“I’m a waterfowl hunter, and I’d happily take care of that problem, as well as dozens of my friends,” said Coun. Whitney Smith.
“You could fill your tag at Moose Beach,” added Mayor Don McIsaac, referring to the popular swimming area at Tudhope Park.
