Dogs included will use a ‘Goose Patrol’ identified vest or bandanna
The District of Peachland is all set to let the dogs out.
Peachland park staff are hiring four-legged volunteers to prevent the increasing Canada goose population from hanging out on their public beachfront.
“The [goose] population likes to suffer on our beaches. Unfortunately, so does the general public,” says Kirsten Jones, interactions officer for the district.
She says the geese leave a big quantity of droppings, which has actually ended up being a public health issue in the Okanagan town, situated around 380 km east of Vancouver near Kelowna.
“The beach ends up being rather fouled by the excrement, and kids do not understand any much better, they select it up, it is all over,” said Jones.
Jones says park staff have actually attempted a number of various methods for many years to restrict the population, consisting of utilizing scarecrows, reflective tape, and noisemakers — however to no obtain.
“We are trying to find dogs who like to put birds on the run,” said Jones, including the dogs will be leashed and trained to shoo the geese away without damaging them.
The dogs will be well-marked with a “Goose Patrol” vest or bandanna.
For the pilot job, Jones says they prepare to take a “handful” of dogs to goose locations, including their waterside, popular parks with play grounds, and food service locations.
Natural worry of dogs
Geese have actually ended up being hyperabundant in lots of metropolitan locations, says Colleen St. Clair, biology teacher at the University of Alberta.
She says they trigger environmental damage, ruining natural grassy environment, and their droppings can bring illness that can be handed down to individuals.
“You may use the ground where goose poop has actually been, and is no longer noticeable, however where these tiny organisms still happen,” said St. Clair.
St. Clair says geese are really smart and typically unsusceptible to deterrence methods.
But she says they have a natural worry of dogs, as coyotes are among their primary predators.
“This brand-new method in Peachland sounds actually ingenious and it might be efficient,” she said.
