Greylag geese (Anser anser) are increasingly common in urban parks and reserves across the UK, where they can reach densities causing ecological damage and human conflict. Management through egg oiling, nest disturbance, and lethal culling raises significant welfare debates.
Geese that have eggs oiled do not immediately abandon the nest — they continue incubating infertile eggs for the full incubation period, an extended period of wasted reproductive effort. Lethal culling during moult traps flightless birds by driving them into pens before killing, causing acute fear stress during the capture process. Goslings separated from parents during management operations face starvation and predation without parental protection. Urban geese habituated to human presence are more difficult to manage non-lethally as their fear responses diminish. Welfare-preferable management combines habitat modification, dog patrolling, and targeted egg oiling over lethal control.