# Why do people hate on Canada geese? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [April 2, 2023, 1:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-people-hate-on-canada-geese/982008 "2023-04-02T01:37:46Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 5
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2023, 10:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-people-hate-on-canada-geese/982008/81 "2023-04-02T22:54:35Z")
> [@Odesio](#): > > I know. I read through the whole thread and thought I’d make a little joke. That whooshing sound was a low-flying Canada goose, pooping on my head as he went by. ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2023, 11:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-people-hate-on-canada-geese/982008/82 "2023-04-02T23:00:39Z")
I fed a goose at the Little Rock zoo when I was four. Son of a bitch bit my finger. Hated them ever since. ---
**Author:** ![Love\_Rhombus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/love_rhombus/32/10694_2.png) [@Love\_Rhombus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Love_Rhombus)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2023, 11:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-people-hate-on-canada-geese/982008/83 "2023-04-02T23:22:14Z")
I guess they never heard about not biting the hands that feed them. ---
**Author:** ![Jackmannii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackmannii/32/311_2.png) [@Jackmannii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackmannii)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2023, 11:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-people-hate-on-canada-geese/982008/84 "2023-04-02T23:44:59Z")
,Even patriotic American birds can be nasty. # Cambridge mail carrier attacked by turkey had to have hip replaced ## “They’re mean,” said Ed Mitchell, who is recovering at home." > **[Cambridge mail carrier attacked by turkey had to have hip replaced - The...](https://www.bostonglobe.com/2023/04/02/metro/cambridge-mail-carrier-attacked-by-turkey-had-have-hip-replaced/)** > > “They’re mean,” Ed Mitchell said. “I don’t know if something’s happened to them. Maybe one of them got killed by a mail truck.” " " ---
**Author:** ![Telemark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/telemark/32/372_2.png) [@Telemark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Telemark)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2023, 11:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-people-hate-on-canada-geese/982008/85 "2023-04-02T23:53:42Z")
Wild turkeys can be nasty. Lots of stories about them attacking people. > **[Wild Turkey Terror Reigns in Up-Island Rural Neighborhood](https://vineyardgazette.com/news/2008/07/17/wild-turkey-terror-reigns-island-rural-neighborhood)** > > While the bullet-riddled corpse of a feral turkey lies stiff in a Chilmark police freezer, a fuller picture of its violent past on Old Ridge Road and the surrounding neighborhood is emerging. ---
**Author:** ![elfkin477](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/a9a28c/32.png) [@elfkin477](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elfkin477)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2023, 11:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-people-hate-on-canada-geese/982008/86 "2023-04-02T23:56:39Z")
> [@needscoffee](#): > > Note: CANADA Geese, not _Canadian_ Geese. > > They shit so much on the beaches here that you can hardly walk across them without stepping in it. Otherwise, I have no problem with them. This is the biggest reason I dislike them. There’s no such thing as a America bald eagle, an Africa or India elephant, a Eurasia lynx, or a Mexico wolf. Why on earth should we change the grammatical rules for this terrible bird? ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2023, 12:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-people-hate-on-canada-geese/982008/87 "2023-04-03T00:09:03Z")
> [@elfkin477](#): > > Why on earth should we change the grammatical rules for this terrible bird? If they’re as mean-spirited as they are now when you call them by the correct name, just imagine how irascible they’ll be if you start calling them by the wrong name! They will f\*\*\* you up! I’m reminded of a line in the movie _Fierce Creatures_. One of the keepers is practicing their elevator pitch about how fearsome these adorable harmless ring-tailed lemurs _really_ are: > **Keeper w Brit accent** : Why, why, they’ll raze whole villages when they get their back up! Keep calling them Canadian Geese and they may well raze your whole village. ---
**Author:** ![Ulfreida](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ulfreida/32/8014_2.png) [@Ulfreida](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ulfreida)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2023, 12:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-people-hate-on-canada-geese/982008/88 "2023-04-03T00:43:54Z")
> [@burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](#): > > I’d like to see the Border Collies at the airports actually catch one. Or fifty. They aren’t there to catch them. They’re there to make them move. Border Collies are actually trained to _not_ catch things. Because you rarely want your sheep mauled by a dog. ---
**Author:** ![Ulfreida](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ulfreida/32/8014_2.png) [@Ulfreida](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ulfreida)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2023, 12:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-people-hate-on-canada-geese/982008/89 "2023-04-03T00:56:43Z")
I personally prefer Canada Geese to most humans, myself. Canada Geese have changed their habits, that’s the problem.They’ve learned how to use human-altered environments to their benefit. Many have become sedentary and no longer migrate. In many cases they’ve lost their fear of humans and have become menacing, especially during breeding season (when all geese get aggressive). I can attest that swans are scary up close. When I was four or five I was a park in Vancouver and a swan walked up to me (we about the same size) and sucked my shoelace out of my shoe. It was traumatizing. ---
**Author:** ![RickJay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/bb73d2/32.png) [@RickJay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RickJay)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2023, 1:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-people-hate-on-canada-geese/982008/90 "2023-04-03T01:00:03Z")
If there is one thing you can say about Canada geese, it’s that if there is ever an apocalypse that results in the breakdown of society and the food distribution network, you’ll have geese to eat. There’s a billion of them, and they’re so stupid and aggressive that you could hunt them with a golf club. ---
**Author:** ![Sam\_Stone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Sam\_Stone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sam_Stone)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2023, 1:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-people-hate-on-canada-geese/982008/91 "2023-04-03T01:04:48Z")
You haven’t seen me golf. ---
**Author:** ![Procrustus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/procrustus/32/2994_2.png) [@Procrustus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Procrustus)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2023, 1:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-people-hate-on-canada-geese/982008/92 "2023-04-03T01:28:16Z")
> [@Ulfreida](#): > > In many cases they’ve lost their fear of humans and have become menacing, especially during breeding season (when all geese get aggressive). We had a pair near our house. When nesting, the male would run our dog around as a distraction to keep him away from the nest.(which he actually had no interest in, but the goose didn’t know that) The bond, at least in the Spring, of the mating pairs is very strong and fun to watch. Also, I love seeing the new families swim by together after they hatch. ---
**Author:** ![Tarataratara](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/f4b2a3/32.png) [@Tarataratara](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tarataratara)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2023, 2:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-people-hate-on-canada-geese/982008/93 "2023-04-03T02:08:52Z")
Some geese are donated to food banks. [Thousands of airport geese slaughtered, donated to food pantries in past four years – New York Daily News](https://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/thousands-airport-geese-slaughtered-years-article-1.3500855) > **[Goose Meat Used By Metro Caring To Help Feed Hungry Families](https://www.cbsnews.com/colorado/news/goose-meat-metro-caring-food-bank-denver/)** > > Metro Caring received goose meat from the USDA this week as part of a program involving Denver Parks and Recreation. ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2023, 2:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-people-hate-on-canada-geese/982008/94 "2023-04-03T02:30:53Z")
They used to feed convicts lobster because bug meat was economically valueless. Now, … not so much. Maybe we can make Canada Goose into the next trendy food. Then, like Chilean Sea Bass and Orange Roughy (AKA Patagonian toothfish and slimehead respectively), all the Americans in search of trendy dining will simply eat the pesky geese into near extinction in a couple of years. No more poop all over our parks & running paths. Yaay! ---
**Author:** ![Odesio](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/odesio/32/20003_2.png) [@Odesio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Odesio)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2023, 2:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-people-hate-on-canada-geese/982008/95 "2023-04-03T02:33:47Z")
> [@carnivorousplant](#): > > I fed a goose at the Little Rock zoo when I was four. > Son of a bitch bit my finger. Hated them ever since. I can across an article in the Arkansas Democrat or the Arkansas Gazette (I get them confused) from 1957 about a monkey at the Little Rock Zoo who bit the finger off of a little girl. One of the reasons I remember the article so well is that reporter wrote “This was the monkeys first offense” and I thought it was just an odd turn of phrase. As if there’s some legal system at the zoo or something. A kangaroo court maybe… ---
**Author:** ![needscoffee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/needscoffee/32/1076_2.png) [@needscoffee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/needscoffee)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2023, 3:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-people-hate-on-canada-geese/982008/96 "2023-04-03T03:55:59Z")
> [@burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](#): > > What the hell are they eating? Slip 'em some cheese to gum up the works a bit You want them producing stinky farts along with slippery poop??? ---
**Author:** ![ParallelLines](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/parallellines/32/3575_2.png) [@ParallelLines](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ParallelLines)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2023, 4:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-people-hate-on-canada-geese/982008/97 "2023-04-03T04:26:58Z")
Gives us (The SDMB) a whole new reason to roll-eyes or be frustrated by a slippery slope argument… :rimshot: ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2023, 12:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-people-hate-on-canada-geese/982008/98 "2023-04-03T12:10:38Z")
> [@Ulfreida](#): > > I can attest that swans are scary up close > **[Kayaker Drowns After Swan Attack](https://www.huffpost.com/entry/kayaker-drowns-swan-attack-anthony-hensley-illinois_n_1428331/amp)** > > Kayaker Drowns After Swan Attack No worries, wasn’t me. ---
**Author:** ![RickJay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/bb73d2/32.png) [@RickJay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RickJay)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2023, 1:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-people-hate-on-canada-geese/982008/99 "2023-04-03T13:16:45Z")
> [@kayaker](#): > > No worries, wasn’t me. If it were it’d give a new meaning to “Zombie thread.” ---
**Author:** ![Slow\_Moving\_Vehicle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slow_moving_vehicle/32/291_2.png) [@Slow\_Moving\_Vehicle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Slow_Moving_Vehicle)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2023, 3:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-people-hate-on-canada-geese/982008/100 "2023-04-03T15:54:17Z")
> [@Joey\_P](#): > > For those that haven’t had to deal with geese, here’s what we mean by _everywhere_. > [https://boomerrantz.files.wordpress.com/2012/01/poop-pic.jpg](https://boomerrantz.files.wordpress.com/2012/01/poop-pic.jpg) Exactly. Those posters still unfamiliar with the vicious bastards might read of goose shit and picture the annoying-but-small splats that show up on your car when you park under a tree. Not so; geese produce huge, disgusting _turds._ Like a pack of incontinent dogs on a high-carb diet. Nasty. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-people-hate-on-canada-geese/982008.md?page=4) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-people-hate-on-canada-geese/982008.md?page=6)