St. Louis officials are likely to vote Monday on a new contract to keep geese from the city’s big parks.
Nuisance goose control is nothing new for the city parks department, said director Greg Hayes. But the current contract is expiring, which means the city has to go through the bid process.
Currently, the city works with the owner of three trained border collies that are let off leash to chase the geese away. Regardless of who is selected for the new contract, Hayes said, the goal is to keep the geese from getting comfortable in the parks, not to kill them.
“We want to pursue a contract with someone who does it humanely, consults with any of the entities out there who have expertise,” he said.
The exact amount of the contract won’t be known until the company is picked, Hayes said, but it’s averaged about $30,000 a year in the past. While that’s not a huge amount, he added that he is prepared for the money to be directed elsewhere as the city deals with the financial fallout of the coronavirus pandemic.
Regardless of whether the city is able to fund the contract, Hayes said, visitors to the parks can take steps to reduce the chances that geese will take up residence there.
“Throw your trash away — don’t provide a food source,” he said. “And I know folks growing up over the years would go to a pond, a lake, or a cemetery lake or what have you and feed the geese. We highly discourage that, because then they become acclimated to an area and there’s an expectation they will be fed.”
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