It started with the introduction of a sub-species of Canadian goslings from Ontario more than 60 years ago, that left B.C. estuaries and shorelines paying the price.
The resulting rampant overpopulation of alien Canada geese in Canada's western-most province 鈥� which damages eco-systems and increases the risk of water contamination 鈥� is being mitigated by multiple programs targeting the ubiquitous birds before more can hatch.
Egg addling is a population management tool for non-migratory Canada geese. It involves shaking eggs or coating them with non-toxic, biodegradable food-grade corn oil within 14 days of incubation to make them unviable.
The eggs are then returned to the nest, where geese will continue to incubate until they realize the eggs will not hatch, usually too late in the year to produce more.
Garreth Ashley, a wildlife biologist with Guardians of our Salish Estuaries (GOOSE), explained how non-native Canada geese are pressuring Vancouver Island ecosystems.
The geese feast on the edges of water channels, affecting vegetative cover. For native geese that migrate, the vegetation can recover, but for populations that stay year-round, increased feeding breaks sediment stabilization. This can turn a thin and deep water channel that serves as an effective salmon habitat into a shallow, broad channel that heats up in the summer and is ill-suited for fish species.
"In the 1950s and 60s the provincial and federal government for the intent, and the good intent, of increasing hunting opportunities for wildlife viewing started transporting Canada geese from places like Guelph Ontario to the west coast of Canada," Ashley said. "They brought these geese in crates and a lot of them were actually goslings that didn't have parents that teach them how to migrate."
Ashley reports egg addling and eco-fencing have combined to reduce geese populations in central Vancouver Island locations to record-low numbers in 2024. A similar annual egg-addling program is set to begin in the Okanagan.
This program (started by Okanagan Valley Goose Managament) is supported by many animal welfare organizations. Geese are not harmed in the process.
In the program's 18 years, 24,000 eggs have been addled, equating to an estimated 12,000 to 18,000 geese not entering the population, not including thousands more offspring that could have been hatched.
Reporting is encouraged, but the public is asked to keep away and not touch the eggs.
"Canada geese would not be nesting in this region naturally, so we know the addling program only affects these introduced species" said Kate Hagmeier, program coordinator.
In order for the program to succeed, finding and accessing new nests is vital. The public is encouraged to help out by reporting lone geese, pairs of geese, or nest locations on private or public land. They can email , or call 1-877-943-3209.
More information can be found at
