By Lucas Smolcic Larson | lsmolciclarson@mlive.com


Where someone might see a pristine golf course or grassy lakeside park, a Canada goose sees a perfect home base.

The waterfowl, generations ago on the brink of extinction, are now thriving in Michigan’s cities and suburbs.

The proposal has rankled a national animal advocacy organization, which contends the real problem is residents’ attitudes, not the geese.

“Now there should be more killing? No, there should be more evolution. There should be more tolerance, more understanding of how to respect indigenous wildlife, how to live with them, rather than figuring out how to clobber them,” said Priscilla Feral, president of the national nonprofit Friends of Animals.

Feral has written to Michigan officials urging them to instead consider a solution using “poop scooper” equipment from companies like Georgia-based Tow and Collect to clean up after geese, as well as making some habitat modifications to discourage them from congregating or installing anchored floating islands to funnel them to particular out-of-the-way areas.

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