Dozens of people gathered in the Edgewater neighborhood of Madison, Alabama, on recent days to protest a homeowners association plan to euthanize roughly 226 Canada geese at the community’s man-made lake by herding them into nets and gassing them with carbon monoxide.
The Edgewater Homeowners Association board voted to proceed with the cull after what board members described as six years of unsuccessful non-lethal management efforts. The HOA said in a statement shared with local news outlet FOX54 that it had tried cleaning feces, predator deterrents, reducing grazing areas, and goose-deterrent sprays. “After years of non-lethal attempts that did not reduce the population, the HOA consulted with state wildlife officials and the USDA,” the statement said. “Under federal guidelines, USDA Wildlife Services is authorized to assist communities when goose populations exceed sustainable levels and create documented public-health and environmental impacts.”
The board’s president, Brian Goodwin, told WAFF 48 that the 226 Canada geese living year-round at the lake have negatively affected or pose risks to the lake’s quality, public health, trails, common areas and resident safety.
Residents who oppose the cull say those claims are overblown. Edgewater resident Natalie Tidwell told WAFF 48 she has “never had any issues with hostility or aggression” from the geese and said she personally never got sick from them as a child. “I can’t say that it’s a problem that warrants lethal measures, that’s for sure,” she said.
Neighborhood resident David Field started a Change.org petition calling for the HOA to stop what he described as an “abhorrent and unnecessary” plan. “Our family, like many others, moved here to enjoy not just the tranquil environment but to live alongside nature,” the petition reads. “This isn’t just about these birds; it’s about the ecosystem and the balance we disturb when we decide that we can control nature.”
The method the HOA has said it will use involves subcontractors hired through the USDA. Board member Jack Hollum, who was one of two board members who voted against the plan, told WAFF 48 the process involves shooting nets over the flock, capturing as many geese as possible, loading them into a trailer, and gassing them. “And geese can hold their breath for 45 minutes or so — so in doing that, it’s an agonizing death for them,” Hollum said.
The animal rights organization People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) has said it strongly opposes culling as a goose management method, arguing it provides only a short-term reprieve. A previous cull at the same lake in 2020 was followed by a new flock replacing the removed birds.
Canada geese are federally protected under the Migratory Bird Treaty Act, but the law allows culling with a permit from the U.S. Department of Agriculture. The HOA has obtained such authorization, it said. The Edgewater HOA did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The dispute in Madison reflects a growing national pattern of conflicts between suburban communities and resident Canada geese, which have thrived in man-made ponds and lakes where natural predators are scarce and grass is plentiful.