On Canada Day, one of our national symbols is under attack in Oregon State, where one town has put Canada goose on the menu at homeless shelters.
Officials in Bend, Oregon, are so fed up with the mess left by Canada geese that they've opted to gas 109 birds.
The local parks and recreation board says the geese were euthanized with carbon dioxide, leaving the meat safe to eat. Now the birds are heading for the dinner plates at local homeless shelters.
Sandy Klein at the NeighborImpact shelter in Bend says that the last time she got a shipment of Canada goose meat, no one knew what to do with it.
"So this year, I think I'm going to provide a recipe to go with goose meat so people know what to do. It's a different flavour. It makes a good stew," she said.
In fact, recipes for Canada goose meat abound on the internet, including one for that calls for garlic and rosemary.
But in Stanley Park, Vancouverites were taken aback by the idea that a Canada goose flying south might never come back, calling the euthanasia "barbaric" and even "crazy."
Even the head of the Vancouver Park Board, Aaron Jasper, was shocked.
"We don't take the approach of culling them. I think, if there's deemed to be a bit of a problem with the population, our staff will identify the nests, and we'll shake the eggs, and that's how we address the issue of overpopulation," Jasper said.
In Bend, the parks and recreation department held several public meetings and found that most people supported the idea. Still, it's not planning any further kills this year.
With a report from CTV British Columbia's Jina You
