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The sad reality is that Canada geese are federally protected by the Migratory Bird Treaty Act.

Canada geese are Federally protected by the MBTA by reason of the fact that they are listed as migratory birds in all four treaties. Regulations must meet the requirements of the most restrictive of the four, which for Canada geese is the treaty with Canada.

The Migratory Bird Treaty Act provides that it is unlawful to pursue, hunt, take, capture, kill, possess, sell, purchase, barter, import, export, or transport any migratory bird, or any part, nest, or egg of any such bird, unless authorized by permit. Take is defined in regulations as: pursue, hunt, shoot, wound, kill, trap, capture, or collect, or attempt to pursue, hunt, shoot, would, kill, trap, capture, or collect.

The primary motivation for negotiation of the 1916 treaty and the passage of the MBTA was to stop the indiscriminate slaughter of migratory birds by market hunters and others.

So provided we are discriminating in our attempts to slaughter them, it's all good