# 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:** 7
**Author:** ![AkPeonies](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/65b543/32.png) [@AkPeonies](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AkPeonies)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2023, 5:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-people-hate-on-canada-geese/982008/121 "2023-04-05T05:34:25Z")
Well, clearly you all must live in some weird places. I’m in Alaska and we love our Canadian Geese. They arrive in the Spring, They eat weeds and bugs doing a great job of weeding our gardens. They taste great and have been eaten by folks up here for more generations than you have seen in the lower-48. Keep them coming. I don’t mind walking 10 feet out of my way to let these geese go about their business. And, BTW, they are great at providing natural fertilizer to my flower fields. ---
**Author:** ![Velocity](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/velocity/32/18006_2.png) [@Velocity](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Velocity)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2023, 7:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-people-hate-on-canada-geese/982008/122 "2023-04-05T07:29:36Z")
Ah yes, my mother had a similar experience. The family had a duck. They played with it and chased it around. When dinner time came, nobody could chow down the duck meat. You cannot have a personal relationship with your food. ---
**Author:** ![purplehorseshoe](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/purplehorseshoe/32/2996_2.png) [@purplehorseshoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/purplehorseshoe)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2023, 8:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-people-hate-on-canada-geese/982008/123 "2023-04-05T08:32:24Z")
> [@Odesio](#): > > A few years back, when Occupy Wall Street was still a thing, there were discussions about what to do about the goose problem in Burns Park in North Little Rock. Not gonna lie, I thought your post was gonna go in a waaayyyy different direction. I mean, scummy Wall St. stockbrokers aren’t most people’s friends, but … dang, dude. Harsh. ---
**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 6, 2023, 12:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-people-hate-on-canada-geese/982008/124 "2023-04-06T00:33:58Z")
> [@AkPeonies](#): > > Well, clearly you all must live in some weird places. Does Chicago qualify as “weird”? Part of the issue, as others have pointed out, is that, in our area, a lot of the Canada geese aren’t migratory anymore. They stick around year-round, pooping and hissing and being a pain in the backside. ---
**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 6, 2023, 1:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-people-hate-on-canada-geese/982008/125 "2023-04-06T01:48:15Z")
> [@purplehorseshoe](#): > > Not gonna lie, I thought your post was gonna go in a waaayyyy different direction. > > I mean, scummy Wall St. stockbrokers aren’t most people’s friends, but … dang, dude. Harsh. I still can’t figure out which way that post did go, much less all the ways it might have gone. I’m obviously honking up the wrong tree here trying to understand this one. ---
**Author:** ![Velocity](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/velocity/32/18006_2.png) [@Velocity](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Velocity)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2023, 4:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-people-hate-on-canada-geese/982008/126 "2023-04-06T16:37:28Z")
Yeah, I’m not sure what he meant either. Maybe he meant stuffing as many geese droppings as possible into Wall Street headquarters? ---
**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 6, 2023, 4:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-people-hate-on-canada-geese/982008/127 "2023-04-06T16:59:28Z")
I thought that maybe he meant that since the Occupy folks tended to occupy public parks all around the country that perhaps the RW authorities could simply obtain some geese and drop them off in the same parks. Soon enough the geese will have driven off the human riff-raff and nobody would / could blame the RW authorities for doing so. But the good clean citizens of 'Merika would be rid of those stinky goose-shit covered hippies. Without having to pay for any police overtime or jail space. But that’s just my WAG. ---
**Author:** ![Tamerlane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tamerlane/32/7602_2.png) [@Tamerlane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tamerlane)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2023, 5:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-people-hate-on-canada-geese/982008/128 "2023-04-06T17:41:13Z")
> [@LSLGuy](#): > > RW authorities could simply obtain some geese An activity with a high potential to backfire. “Got all those geese loaded in the back Vinnie?” “Yeah, they’re sleeping quietly.” “Alright let’s get going, those protestors are never going to know…hey, what’s that sound?” “I dunno, I think I see something moving around…HONNNKKK…ahhhh!” All they’ll find is a wrecked vehicle, two bodies and a lot feathers and goose shit. ---
**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 6, 2023, 5:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-people-hate-on-canada-geese/982008/129 "2023-04-06T17:52:35Z")
Geese are _very_ talkative creatures. But they _never_ spill a secret. When it comes to ratting out a friend or spoiling a plot their beaks are sealed. ---
**Author:** ![Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spectre_of_pithecanthropus/32/12343_2.png) [@Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spectre_of_Pithecanthropus)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2023, 3:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-people-hate-on-canada-geese/982008/130 "2023-04-23T03:13:15Z")
Here they were just today in that small field I mentioned in the OP. Before I even started the thread, I noticed that the horses, llamas, alpacas, and sheep who usually graze here keep well away when the geese show up. [![](https://i.imgur.com/m8DT28M.jpeg) ](https://i.imgur.com/m8DT28M.jpeg) ---
**Author:** ![hogarth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hogarth/32/1773_2.png) [@hogarth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hogarth)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2023, 12:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-people-hate-on-canada-geese/982008/131 "2023-04-23T12:47:19Z")
I don’t remember ever being hissed at by a Canada goose. Swans, on the other hand… ---
**Author:** ![chela](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chela/32/21582_2.png) [@chela](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chela)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2023, 2:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-people-hate-on-canada-geese/982008/132 "2023-04-23T14:41:59Z")
Saw an odd ball goose today on the riverbank hanging near the Canada geese looked like a cross between a goose and a swan. I think it was a Snow Goose. ---
**Author:** ![gkster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gkster/32/14107_2.png) [@gkster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gkster)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2023, 4:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-people-hate-on-canada-geese/982008/133 "2023-05-05T04:37:49Z")
It still feels like early Spring here in downstate NY, rather than sunny May (rainy and chilly today, 50 degrees) but it’s gosling season. On my way to and from work I pass a road with undeveloped open space where the geese nest. Usually, I see goslings by early April, but today is the first day this year that I’ve seen them. They weren’t very big, so they must have hatched just a few days ago. I would think that they’re cute if I could forget that they’ll grow up to be big annoying geese. And waiting in my car at a traffic light this afternoon, I saw 2 Canada geese cross at the crosswalk. Many thoughts went through my head (Smart geese! They know to cross at the crosswalk! No, it’s just a coincidence. If the light turns while they’re crossing will I wait so I don’t run them over? Maybe I wish I could run them over but it would be too risky and messy…) So many thoughts, in fact, that I made a poll about it: > [@Polls only: No discussion](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/polls-only-no-discussion/953642/3220): > > You’re waiting at a traffic light and see 2 Canada geese cross at the crosswalk. You think: [poll](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/polls-only-no-discussion/953642/3220) ---
**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:** [June 14, 2023, 6:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-people-hate-on-canada-geese/982008/134 "2023-06-14T18:34:44Z")
> [@Ulfreida](#): > > In many cases they’ve lost their fear of humans and have become menacing, especially during breeding season Oh yeah? What about the holiday season? ---
**Author:** ![thorny\_locust](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thorny_locust/32/431_2.png) [@thorny\_locust](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thorny_locust)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2023, 7:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-people-hate-on-canada-geese/982008/135 "2023-06-14T19:32:41Z")
> [@gkster](#): > > And waiting in my car at a traffic light this afternoon, I saw 2 Canada geese cross at the crosswalk. Many thoughts went through my head (Smart geese! They know to cross at the crosswalk! No, it’s just a coincidence. If the light turns while they’re crossing will I wait so I don’t run them over? Maybe I wish I could run them over but it would be too risky and messy…) So many thoughts, in fact, that I made a poll about it: > > You’re waiting at a traffic light and see 2 Canada geese cross at the crosswalk. You think: [poll](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/polls-only-no-discussion/953642/3220) I looked at that post and the first thing I saw was > You’re waiting at a traffic light and see 2 Canada geese cross at the crosswalk. You think: poll and I wondered for a minute if I was in the thread [Tell me you’re a Doper without telling me you’re a Doper](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-me-youre-a-doper-without-telling-me-youre-a-doper/978799). ---
**Author:** ![gkster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gkster/32/14107_2.png) [@gkster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gkster)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2024, 11:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-people-hate-on-canada-geese/982008/136 "2024-05-15T23:32:11Z")
Another goose poll: > [@Polls only: No discussion](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/polls-only-no-discussion/953642/4902): > > It’s goose time again! A year after our 1st goose poll; now, it’s the Married with Goslings edition. You’re driving along a 2-lane road with a 25 MPH speed limit. Ahead, you see a pair of geese with 3 little goslings, strolling along in your lane. You think [poll](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/polls-only-no-discussion/953642/4902)[Why do people hate on Canada geese? - In My Humble Opinion - Straight Dope Message Board](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-people-hate-on-canada-geese/982008) ---
**Author:** ![Crafter\_Man](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crafter_man/32/458_2.png) [@Crafter\_Man](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crafter_Man)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2024, 2:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-people-hate-on-canada-geese/982008/137 "2024-05-16T02:13:49Z")
I’m on TDY, and was walking along the Arkansas River in Wichita, Kansas today. Canada Geese everywhere. When I walked by the geese w/ babies, they really hissed at me. Was half expecting them to attack me. Why do they insist to nest in areas where there’s lots of human traffic? ---
**Author:** ![thorny\_locust](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thorny_locust/32/431_2.png) [@thorny\_locust](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thorny_locust)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2024, 2:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-people-hate-on-canada-geese/982008/138 "2024-05-16T02:34:11Z")
Humans are kind of all over the place these days. We’ve gotten hard to avoid. ---
**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:** [May 16, 2024, 2:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-people-hate-on-canada-geese/982008/139 "2024-05-16T02:38:10Z")
> [@Crafter\_Man](#): > > Why do they insist to nest in areas where there’s lots of human traffic? Because humans have created landscaping, with well-mowed grassy areas, and man-made ponds, that the geese love. Also, they are dumb as posts. ---
**Author:** ![Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spectre_of_pithecanthropus/32/12343_2.png) [@Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spectre_of_Pithecanthropus)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2024, 3:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-people-hate-on-canada-geese/982008/140 "2024-05-16T03:40:54Z")
> [@kenobi\_65](#): > > Also, they are dumb as posts. And the other animals don’t like them either; it isn’t just us. When they gather on the small pasture of the school farm down the road, you can see how the farm animals give them a wide berth. During the wet season the slight depression in in the middle of this pasture often fills up, and of course that’s very attractive to them. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-people-hate-on-canada-geese/982008.md?page=6) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-people-hate-on-canada-geese/982008.md?page=8)