Abington Township approved a contract with the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) earlier this month for “goose abatement” in Alverthorpe Park, The Philadelphia Inquirer reported.

According to their coverage, the feds will deploy “visual deterrents, use of lasers, and remote controlled boats, pyrotechnics, etc.” approximately 35 times between now and June 2027 at the park, the $15,000 contract says.

Canada geese are “attacking people driving golf carts and dropping slippery, bacteria-laden feces”, The Inquirer wrote, adding that the droppings “may also be affecting water quality at the park and interfering with fishing”.

The USDA will euthanize up to 150 birds for people to eat if the geese start molting, which is the process by which birds replace old, broken, or worn-out feathers with new growth.

The Inquirer noted that the township’s shade tree commission considered goose abatement tactics in 2023, and in the 1980s, township officials “considered balloons and plastic swans” to deter geese.

The photo below is dated January 29, 1975. Its caption reads “Ducks and geese swim or picked themselves clean while enjoying yesterday’s spring-like but balmy weather at their lake refuge in Alverthorpe Park, Forrest ave. and Fox Chase road in Abington Township, Montgomery County.”

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Photos: Stock, Temple University Libraries