Farmers in Central Saanich are demanding another cull of the iconic Canada goose after what they call a devastating season on the peninsula.
Non-migratory geese have been ruining important crops and are growing in numbers, the goose population ranges somewhere between 6,000 and 9,000. Prompting local farmer Bryce Rashleigh to call for a Cull. “If you’re not profitable, you cease to be a business. So if they’re eating 20, 30 per cent of your crop, there’s hopefully some profit at the end of the day at the bottom end there, but if it’s gone, what’s the encouragement to keep going?”
Central Saanich Mayor Ryan Windsor says new regulations identifying these geese as "non Migratory" and an invasive species would make it easier to establish a Cull. “What we need to do is ensure that the regulations are in place that effectively identify this non-migratory population as an invasive species.”
Last year, a pilot project allowed 250 of the geese to be culled, but only 43 ended up being killed. Farmers say the experiment was a costly failure and they want trained Hunters used this time around instead of trapping.
Victoria activist group Animal Alliance is decrying any kind of cull as barbaric and unnecessary. Farmers have fired back against critics saying they’re the ones with the problem and the ones searching for a solution. Rob Gibson CFAX 1070 News
A second cull has yet to be green-lit, but Central Saanich is pushing for one to take place next June.