Geese ruffling feathers of residents

FORT MILL, S.C. -- A plan to remove about 19 Canada Geese from a Fort Mill neighborhood is sparking debate among residents who complain about the mess the animals are leaving in their yards.

The homeowners association at the Four Seasons at Gold Hill voted last month to have the birds removed from the retirement community.

The geese are protected under federal law. Their removal will be supervised by the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

Neighbors told WCNC they were told the birds will be destroyed after their removal.

“I was really upset,” resident Carol Cooper told WCNC. “They’re not aggressive unless you attack them.”

Cooper said she agrees with neighbors who complain geese droppings are a nuisance, but she has asked the HOA to research other options to manage the birds.

Tom Piccoli, who serves on a neighborhood committee overseeing the subdivision’s common areas, said he believes trapping the geese and destroying them will be the best solution.

“They taste like chicken and the homeless people need something to eat,” Piccoli told WCNC, adding that he recently cleaned up hundreds of droppings from his yard. “They’re a lovely animal. But they’re out of control."