Vet tests to determine fate of Auckland's Western Springs pest geese

Sunday, 29 September 2019

At least 140 geese at Western Springs Park will be relocated to two lifestyle blocks north of the city in the next fortnight.

A gaggle of geese facing an uncertain future will have one last summer in a popular Auckland park before being culled or re-homed, a local board member says.

The 160 geese living in Western Springs Park will undergo 'goose-by-goose' health checks in the next month, determining which will live to see another day.

Waitematā local board member Rob Thomas put out a call to re-home the wild birds in July, after concerns the park's booming goose population were fouling the water and 'desecrating' walking tracks.

Geese were the 'cows of the bird world' – each excreting up to 1.3kg of faeces a day – creating public health issues and leaving footpaths in need of daily cleaning, Thomas said.

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Waitematā local board member Rob Thomas is determined to re-home as many of the wild birds as possible.

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In July, Stuff reported Auckland Council was looking at options to reduce the goose population at Western Springs, including culling them.

In the hopes he could save them, Thomas put out a call to re-home the birds, sharing a video campaign on Facebook called Save the Geese.

Each goose excretes about 1.3kg of faeces each day, creating health issues and general nuisance for cleaners, a local board member says.

The response had been 'phenomenal', with 115 people expressing interest in fostering the birds, he said.

There were 'excellent opportunities' for re-homing, with the possibility some were destined for a 'goose reserve', with a full-time manager caring for a large section of land, he said.

However, not all will find new homes.

Thomas said Auckland Council was getting a vet to check the conditions of the birds.

Those 'in a bad state', infected with angel wing, which is a twisting of the wing joint, or growth deformities would be put down, he said.

An online campaign called Save the Geese has seen a 'phenomenal' with 115 offers to take the geese in.

He understood the birds would continue to live at Western Springs until February.

Despite not running for re-election in the upcoming local board elections, Thomas said he was committed to seeing the process through.

'I want to re-home as many as we can,' he said.

Auckland Council's head of operational management and maintenance, Agnes McCormack, confirmed the next stage of 'geese management' would be working with a vet to assess the health of the birds.

'If birds are deemed unhealthy and are not fit for re-homing by the vets, we will work with them to find suitable next steps.'

McCormack said there was no firm dates as to when the checks would be carried out, but the council would look to do so during the moulting season in the new year.

Council had been advised a 'sustainable' number of geese at Western Springs was about 40, she said.