'Breaks my heart': Residents react to removal of Canada goose nest, destruction of eggs

Residents who live in the Hyde Park Place apartments in north London, Ont. said they are heartbroken after Old Oak Properties removed two geese nests, containing more than half a dozen eggs.

Residents who live in the Hyde Park Place apartments in north London, Ont. said they are heartbroken after Old Oak Properties removed two geese nests, containing more than half a dozen eggs.

“They used a bang to scare off the geese that were on the nest, and they took away the eggs,” said Nancy Plessis-Belair, a resident in one of the three Old Oak apartments in Hyde Park.

In a statement to CTV News London, Old Oak Properties confirmed that a wildlife removal company was called in last week to “motivate” the adult geese to move away from the nest, by using something called a “bang machine.”

The eggs were destroyed in accordance with the terms of a ‘damage or danger’ permit obtained from Environment and Climate Change Canada, according to Old Oak Properties.

“The property is already overrun with geese, and there are many other nests that were not disturbed. The egg removal from two nests was an attempt to reduce the total number of geese from the area — not to completely eliminate them,” explained Tracy Norman, director of property management at Old Oak Properties.

Plessis-Belair has lived in the apartment for three years, and said the geese return to nest in the same place. She questions why property management was not proactive, ensuring measures that would have prevented the geese from nesting.

“It breaks my heart, I go to sleep at night and I’m just thinking about it, you know. How can someone destroy nature like that? They are so beautiful,” added Plessis-Belair.