Many people grew up going to lakes or ponds making childhood memories feeding the ducks and geese gliding through the water. However, if you tried to do that in one Ohio city now, you could be faced with a fine.
The city of Mentor, located just outside of Cleveland along Lake Erie, has made it illegal to feed Canada geese, approving rules to make the move a misdemeanor of the fourth degree, per WHIO. Anyone found feeding Canada geese could face a fine of up to $250 and would be responsible for any costs for required medical treatments after coming into contact.
But why did they make feeding the geese illegal? Mentor officials declared Canada geese a "nuisance health risk animal" that could become less afraid of the public and become reliant on an artificial food source if people continue to feed them. Additional health risks come from the birds' waste, with officials stating geese can produce more than a pound of feces per day which in turn poses a threat to not just humans but other native species and domestic animals.
The Ohio Department of Natural Resources agreed that people should not feed the geese, adding that a pair of geese could grow into up to 100 in a few years' time.