A new partnership between Wayne State University and Goodbye Geese will help control the campus’ burgeoning goose population. The program employs friendly, trained dogs to mimic natural predators and encourage the geese to relocate to safer, more ideal locations better suited to their unique needs.

Using a method endorsed by the Humane Society and People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA), Goodbye Geese will work with WSU’s Grounds Department to safely and naturally control the campus goose population. The process, approved by the Michigan Department of Natural Resources and in compliance with protections in the Migratory Bird Treaty Act, will help both the geese and the people living and working near where they have settled. The process has been shown to remove geese with a 94% success rate.

“We’re excited to be partnering with Goodbye Geese to help keep Wayne State safe and beautiful,” said Donna Reincke, associate director of grounds. “The goose population on campus has increased rapidly in recent years, and we’re confident this safe, humane and natural process is a great solution in the best interest of both our community and the animals.” 

The program launched in March and is currently focusing on areas with the highest geese population, including the area around the McGregor Reflecting Pool and the Community Arts Building, Keast Commons and the Athletics complex. The campus community can expect to see Goodbye Geese staff – including a trio of border collies wearing turquoise work vests – patrolling the areas.

The border collies, named Tab, Star, and Rue, have been trained as herding dogs to move groups of sheep. Raised around people, the dogs are extremely friendly and obedient. Border collies have long been used to herd, because the breed has the same stature and gaze as wolves, making geese instinctively fearful without the real danger of the natural predators. With consistent patrolling of an area, the presence of the border collies will help the geese safely learn that an area is unsafe and voluntarily relocate.

Based in Detroit, Goodbye Geese is certified by the North American Goosedog Association and has safely conducted Michigan Department of Natural Resource goose control programs at locations like Palmer Park , as well as numerous residential and commercial communities across the state.

“Our dogs have a sharp herd, not hurt, mindset. Our no-contact process is designed to introduce natural pressures into unnatural man made environments, while treating all of the animals and people involved with respect and care. It’s in the best interest of the geese to relocate to a safer location, and it’s in the dogs’ natural instinct to herd them,” said Nichole Cross, Goodbye Geese co-founder and business manager.

Keeping people safe, helping geese

When geese settle into an urban environment – like Wayne State’s campus – they pose a significant threat to themselves and to people in the area. Geese are known to become aggressive and territorial, and occasionally hiss at or chase people who come to close a nest. Perhaps most significantly, geese excrement poses a threat to public health because it contains an array of parasites and bacteria – including E. coli, salmonella, cryptosporidium, giardia, coliform, and campylobacter – which can cause illness. A single goose can defecate 1-1.5 pounds every day.

Further, urban environments are not ideal habitats for geese. While food may be abundant because of manicured lawns and people who share bread and crackers with the geese, these diets are nutritionally deficient. Such diets, which lack vitamins and minerals found in more natural environments and are high in carbohydrates and sugars, can cause deformities in the birds, rendering them unable to fly. Further, man-made bodies of water – like the McGregor Reflecting Pool – lack natural exit points and can trap the birds, especially goslings, in the water.

Disrupting a cyclical problem

Because geese tend to return to the same area in which they were born or previously nested for the duration of their lives, humane herding programs seek to disrupt goose populations before they become settled in an unwanted location. To do so, programs like the one implemented by Wayne State and Goodbye Geese, focus on proactively discouraging geese from hatching goslings in the early spring. In preventing the nesting process, the program dissuades geese from settling – and eventually returning – to a location.

“A pair of geese on average will lay between 3-9 eggs, and the population can quickly get out of control. The goal is to herd the geese away before they hatch their goslings, so that they can nurture their offspring in a more natural environment,” said Gordon Ligon, Goodbye Geese co-founder and operations manager.

While the program will focus on the early spring nesting season, patrolling will continue into the fall, except for a brief window in the late summer when the geese are molting and cannot fly.

To learn more about Goodbye Geese, visit https://goodbyegeese.net/.