Birds are highly selective with where they choose to nest — it is where they will lay their eggs and incubate them until they hatch.
A pair of Canada geese set up shop just outside the fence of one homeowner's property, which happens to be right next to a peaceful lake.
The neighborhood's homeowners association (HOA) saw this bird's nest as a threat to the property and engaged in measures to remove it. Frustrated and upset with the actions by their HOA, the OP shared the tragedy on the r/f***HOA subreddit.
The OP attached pictures of the geese lounging around outside their property's fence. One of the pictures shows a mama goose sitting patiently atop an obvious nest.
"Do pictures … convey the appearance justifying the issuance of a permit for the removal of an active nest or eggs…?" the OP asked.
Per the OP's description, their neighborhood HOA — in Mount Pleasant, South Carolina — instructed its outsourced management group to apply for a §50-11-840 permit, or a special Canada Goose permit, with the South Carolina Department of Natural Resources. This permit, if secured, would allow the HOA to remove or destroy an active nest, defined as birds or eggs present.
After the HOA supposedly received the permit, it employed a Michigan-based Canada goose removal company, Goose Busters, to destroy the eggs the mama goose laid by covering them with corn oil — a process known as egg addling. The oil covers the egg's pores, which allows for the exchange of oxygen, rendering the egg unviable.
"It breaks our heart to watch [the geese] take such parental care — hovering and attending the three remaining dead eggs … [the mother] is still sitting on them, 64 days and counting, when hatching should have occurred after 30 days," the OP wrote.
An interaction with a Goose Buster technician left the OP wondering whether the HOA had indeed secured the removal permit. Asking the technician for proof of the permit, the technician retreated to the car and simply left.
HOAs are notoriously known for intervening in homeowner affairs — from the most trivial of matters, such as choosing the wrong trash company, to more practical matters that could save homeowners money, such as installing solar for charging electric vehicles at home or upgrading to a native plant lawn. HOAs preventing these eco-friendly upgrades stops homeowners from saving some cash and also negatively impacts the environment.
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In this instance, the HOA may have bent the rules, depending on whether it actually received the special permit, to maintain appearances for the neighborhood.
Commenters were all equally enraged by the cruelty of the HOA and the business recruited to kill the mother goose's eggs.
"You should report them - the HOA and Goose Busters. If they never did get the permit, let US Fish and Wildlife Services investigate them all. Also, f*** them," one commenter suggested.
"I'm sure r/birdlaw would have a lot to say about this. How horrible!" another user commented.
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