Kelowna RCMP respond to reports of goslings being pushed off high-rise balcony

Mounties in Kelowna say they were called to an apartment building Wednesday morning after receiving a report of baby geese being pushed off a patio.

Police were called to the building, located on Doyle Avenue near Ellis Street, at around 10:30 a.m.

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“The complainant, who was working at a nearby building, had noticed some juvenile geese, some goslings, being pushed off the fourth floor of that neighbouring building,” Cpl. Steven Lang told 1130 NewsRadio.

“We requested the assistance of the BC Conservation Officer Service, who did attend.”

Lang says his understanding is that there were three goslings and two adult geese. They all fell from the balcony, but the adult geese and one of the babies were uninjured.

“Two of the goslings were injured, and they were taken to a local animal wildlife rescue center for treatment,” he said.

“The remainder…that were uninjured were taken to Okanagan Lake and released without any issues.”

The resident says they have had issues with geese in the past and hadn’t known what to do about them.

“Given the circumstances, it was deemed appropriate at that point to educate the individual about proper wildlife removal procedures,” Lang said.

“We did encourage them to seek some assistance from the Conservation Officer Service in the future if they were having ongoing issues with the geese.”

This was an unusual call, he says.

“We don’t typically get calls of geese in high-rise buildings or people dealing with it in this manner,” he said.

“There is an agency that used to be involved in disrupting nests, but it was authorized and approved by the wildlife authorities. They did have permits and that sort of thing to deal with it. But this incident is a little unusual in how it played out as well as the [geese] being injured.”

Lang says anytime animals are involved in a public incident, it brings up a lot of emotions and opinions from members of the public.

“People love animals, and because they are genuinely not able to look after themselves or they’re vulnerable, people do have a kind and soft heart for the animals and want to make sure that someone is looking out for their well-being.”

Anyone dealing with pests or wildlife should contact an organization that is licensed to deal with the issue.

“There are a number of local agencies that deal with pests,” Lang said.

“There are agencies that can provide advice on wildlife as well, as we don’t want to see any wildlife or animals in general be injured by people that are not taking the appropriate steps.”

Anyone who needs help with dangerous or aggressive wildlife can call the BC Conservation Officer Service at 1-877-952-7277 or the BC SPCA Animal Helpline at 1-855-622-7722.