The problem is not unique to Wisconsin and should not be treated as such. Alan Burchell, Ray, Minn. Canada geese in the wild or the city are still viewed as wild waterfowl and are protected nationwide. You are absolutely right that the issue is not unique to Wisconsin, it's prevalent in many urban areas in the United States and Canada. We stated that hazing techniques, addling eggs, repellents, fencing and other control techniques had been effective in many other communities. Processing geese for food shelters is plausible, but not uniformly accepted, and those animals must be tested as safe food sources.
Social acceptance is more difficult.
In the Midwest, where waterfowl hunting is more common, geese may be welcome at food shelters. In large Eastern cities, where urban dwellers are less accustomed to eating wild game, clients at food shelters have refused to eat this excellent source of lean, tasty protein. Clearly a mixture of techniques and approaches is warranted as each community decides how to manage its urban wildlife populations. In my view, the same factors that drove timber companies to completely destroy the white pinery in northern Wisconsin during the 1800s, greed and ignorance, continue to operate today. National forests have been reduced to fragmented patches of monocultures interspersed by wide open spaces due to clearcutting.