'A day of savagery': Daylesford locals in confrontation to stop lake geese removal
Daylesford locals have converged on the town's picturesque lake to stop contractors removing a flock of geese.
Hepburn Council last week voted to boot the more than 30 geese from Lake Daylesford, citing the $5000 clean-up bill and environmental damage, despite their popularity with tourists.
Contractors descended on the lake on Monday about 1.30pm, where they were met by about three dozen angry locals.
Chef and Daylesford Lake House owner Alla Wolf-Tasker confronted a contractor catching the geese with a net.
"The geese are very, very distressed. You can hear them calling," Ms Wolf-Tasker told The Age.
Ms Wolf-Tasker said there was no consultation with the community, which she said was "a great concern" to her.
"I almost feel like I'm not in Australia, I almost feel like I'm in some other country."
She said the council could have at least waited until after the breeding season to remove the geese, which were being put into cages in the back of an open trailer.
"It's been a day of savagery here, absolute savagery," Ms Wolf-Tasker said.
Tourists were lining the balconies of their rental properties to watch on, she said, and some families had taken their children away from the lake because it was causing "such distress".
Locals who could get away from work at the last minute went down, and people on their lunch breaks blockaded the lake with their cars to stop the contractors from taking the geese.
Video shows her confronting a contractor, who told her to speak with the council.
The council engaged a contractor to transport the geese – potentially to the Mornington Peninsula – at a cost of $2750, to be funded through the shire's biodiversity budget.
Victoria Police confirmed officers were on site to monitor the situation.
About 3400 people have signed a Change.org petition opposing the move.
Hepburn Shire last week said the geese were "significantly impacting the natural environment, reducing amenity for community members and visitors and placing native bird populations under stress".
Council said the removal would be done at a time to minimise stress to the geese.
Shire mayor Don Henderson last week said the move was a necessary action as part of the shire’s biodiversity strategy.
"We’re a supposedly pristine area where we value our environment and we undertake things like getting rid of noxious weeds from the lakes," Cr Henderson said. "So what’s different between some feral geese and feral plants?"
A report prepared by the council’s biodiversity officer said the growing goose population was impacting native black swans – and costing the council $5000 a year to clean up droppings.
"Domestic geese and ducks stress native waterfowl, lake vegetation and reduce water quality," the report said.
with Ballarat Courier