MOUNT VERNON — The goose buster the city recently bought to drive away the excessive goose population at Ariel-Foundation is a bust, according to Mayor Richard Mavis.
Designed to agitate the geese by broadcasting the sound of a distressed goose, along with a few coyotes mixed in, the goose buster not only did not work, but the geese walked right past the speaker without being fazed. A rough count places the park’s goose population in excess of 250.
“[The Ohio Department of Natural Resources] told us we can’t just ignore it, we have to do something,” said Mavis.
One possible solution is to catch, euthanize and harvest for a food pantry some of the geese during a two-week period in which they cannot fly due to molting. “That can cost $12 to $18 for every bird, which is pretty expensive,” said Mavis, adding that removing all of the geese would destroy the look of a natural park. “We are a little taken aback by our failure with the goose buster, but it’s something we are all pledged to investigate.”