PREVENTION OF BREEDING OF CANADA GEESE BY COATING EGGS WITH LIQUID PARAFFIN

The British population of feral Canada Geese is increasing at about 8. 5% per year and is causing concern through conflicts with agriculture, human recreation and other wildlife. This paper addresses a technique of population management involving the coating of eggs with a cheap a nd readily available chemical, liquid paraffin, to prevent hatching. L aboratory studies with domestic chicken eggs and field studies with Ca nada Goose eggs showed that the treatment was completely successful in suppressing hatching. Examination of chick embryos and adult geese su ggested that the technique was likely to be at least as humane as othe r techniques in regular use. The birds were shown to incubate eggs tre ated with liquid paraffin for an average of 37 days, 'pricked' eggs fo r 17 days, whilst controls hatched after 28 days. Treatment of Canada Goose eggs with liquid paraffin could, when combined with other contro l methods, make a valuable contribution to population management progr ammes aimed at reducing damage.