ONTARIO — Kevin Fraley responded as any concerned father would when his daughter came home with tears in her eyes last Thursday.
The 17-year-old was headed home after her shift at the Walmart on Lexington-Springmill Road when she witnessed something terrible: A vehicle appeared to purposefully run over a goose in the parking lot. The sight literally made her sick to her stomach.
“As she left after her shift and drove out of the parking lot, she said that the geese family had gathered around the other injured animal,” Fraley said. “She witnessed the injured animal laying on its back flailing its legs, and suffer as the other geese gathered around in a futile attempt to comfort and help the injured animal.
“She was devastated, my daughter cares so much about animals and to see this unfold just about broke her,” he said. “To witness such cruelty from another human being – to purposefully hurt an animal.”
Fraley did the only thing he could think to do – he took his crying daughter to the Ontario Police Department to report the incident.
“The officer she spoke with was kind and compassionate, but explained that there was nothing he could do currently, because she didn’t actually witness a vehicle run the geese over or have a plate number,” Fraley said.
Then the officer told Fraley something that surprised him: Canada geese are protected under both the Federal Migratory Bird Treaty Act and Ohio state law.
Without enough information to report the incident, the next option for Fraley and his daughter was to bring attention to the problem itself.
“I myself shop at this Walmart and do find these geese can be a pain when you’re in a hurry, however a large portion of the population would not run over these animals,” he wrote in an email to Richland Source. “I didn’t know if you were able to bring attention to the local community that these animals are actually federally-protected animals?”
According to the Ohio Department of Natural Resources, it is illegal for any person, agency, or organization to take or attempt to take (pursue, hunt, shoot, wound, kill, trap, capture, or collect), any bird, nest, or egg outside of the regular hunting season without a special permit from the Ohio Division of Wildlife and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.
This protection extends to the geese, goslings, nests, and eggs. Non-lethal scare and hazing tactics, which do not harm the geese, are allowed.
There are two types of geese in Ohio: Migratory geese that migrate to and from their winter and breeding areas, and resident geese that stay in one general area throughout most of the year but may migrate short distances during periods of severe weather. These geese are usually in an urban/suburban area.
If left undisturbed, geese will readily establish nesting territories on any suitable pond, be it located on a farm, backyard, golf course, apartment or condominium complex, or city park – which, yes, can make them a nuisance.
On Monday, Richland Source found a gaggle of more than 50 geese grazing in a field next to Hawkins Corner. There was also a telltale patch of flattened feathers in the parking lot of the plaza in front of Walmart.
Canada geese mate for life, with very low “divorce rates.” Goslings remain with their parents constantly, though sometimes “gang broods” form that can include at least two broods, and sometimes five or more, that travel, feed, and loaf together, accompanied by at least one adult.
An online records search of the Ontario Police Department shows most animal incidents the department has responded to since 2017 have involved dogs, not geese.
According to Ontario Police Chief Tommy Hill, the chargeable cases are few and far between, but in those instances a person would be charged with cruelty to animals; the first offense for intentionally assaulting an animal is a first-degree misdemeanor, punishable by a jail sentence of up to 180 days and/or a maximum $1,000 fine.
The Ontario officer who spoke to Fraley and his daughter told her that if she ever sees this happen again, to call them and they’d respond ASAP.
“She has watched these geese grow over the last few weeks, and to see what she saw was devastating to her,” Fraley said. “To the person who killed this goose – I feel sad for them and their family that has to deal with them.”
