Madison County HOA asks USDA to remove 500+ geese; neighboring community halts plan after protests

A homeowners association in the Heritage Plantation neighborhood asked the U.S. Department of Agriculture to capture and euthanize more than 500 geese, and the USDA reportedly carried out the action, leaving "only feathers" at the site, according to the transcript of a community report.

The transcript said the Heritage Plantation HOA voted to remove the birds, describing the local population as "about 500 times too high" and citing federal guidance as justification. The reporter said the USDA captured and euthanized the birds at the HOA's request.

In nearby Edgewater, a separate plan to euthanize hundreds of geese was stopped after two days of protests, the transcript says. Residents flooded their HOA with calls and emails, and the board reversed its decision; the transcript says Edgewater is forming a committee to seek humane, long-term solutions.

The report summarized claims of local impacts attributed in the transcript to residents: illnesses among neighbors, pets getting sick, the loss of roughly 75% of local swans to suspected bird flu, and a fish kill the transcript linked to goose droppings. The transcript also records that the HOA had tried multiple nonlethal tactics for more than a decade—coyote decoys, laser lights, fencing, importing swans and egg-control measures—with limited lasting effect.

The transcript characterizes lethal removal as a federally approved method sometimes used when goose populations become very large, particularly in suburban areas that lack natural predators. The HOA is reported to have framed the euthanasia as a last resort after other measures failed.

Next steps differ by neighborhood: Heritage Plantation's action was reported as completed, while Edgewater's HOA reversed its vote and is forming a committee to explore nonlethal approaches, according to the transcript.