People rallied for geese Continued from page 1 7 · Wednesday, May 9, 2012 OAKVILLE BEAVER · www.insideHALTON.com Despite this, many customers and employees in the plaza have become protective of the geese. LCBO employee Alison Paduch described a instance when a local business put up large promotional balloons, which scared the plaza's feather friends. "They wouldn't sit on the nest. They were all over the parking lot, didn't know what to do with themselves. Customers were getting upset about this," said Paduch. "A lady went over there. She and (the manager) got into a big speaking war. He told her to get out of the store. The police ended up getting called." Fairborn said he only hired someone to relocate the geese because a tenant at the plaza complained about the repeated attacks on customers. Removing a pair of Canada geese and their eggs, however, is not a simple feat. "We know they are protected so we checked with wildlife people and they said we'd have to get a permit. We said, `Fine' and applied for the permit," said Fairborn. "In the meantime, we posted some white signs to make people aware the geese were nesting." The permit was approved and a professional was hired to remove the geese and eggs. By then, however, the community had adopted the geese and rallied to their defence. Holly MacPherson, who works in the area, said she believed the wildlife control person sent to the site was actually there to destroy the eggs. "The gentleman ended up leaving because I guess there were so many people at the LCBO standing and taking pictures of him and watching him," said MacPherson. Fairborn said it was his understanding when he hired the wildlife control company that the geese and eggs would be humanely removed to an area where they would not bother people and where they would be safe. The Oakville and Milton Humane Society confirmed the company in question had no intention of harming the geese or their eggs. With the goslings expected to hatch any day now, Fairborn has decided to let the situation sort itself out. "We said, `Look, we, as a property developer and a property management company, we will do whatever you are happy with that makes sense." S P E E R S PA I N T Get more from PARA Paints with Ultra Interior & Exterior paint! up to $40 OFF* www.mississaugaaikidoclub.com FREE UNIFORM · 2 DAYS FREE TRIALS Kids & Adult classes FREE 416-995-7698 2359 Royal Windsor Drive, Unit #11 Mississauga, ON L5J 4S9 NEW TO SPEERS PAINT: 2 CERTIFIED INTERIOR DECORATORS NOW ON STAFF FOR IN-STORE OR IN-HOME COLOUR CONSULTATIONS! Pick any colour in the store and take the PARA challenge the choice is clear! 100% QUALITY - 100% PERFORMANCE - 100% SATISFACTION SPEERS PAINT 275 Speers Rd., Oakville, ON L6K 261 905-337-7272 www.speerspaint.com *Offer applies to PARA Ultra Interior and Exterior Paints only. $40 off = $10 off per gallon, up to a maximum of 4 gallons per customer, per household. $5 off at cash register from participating PARA Paint Dealer, and $5 off after mail-in rebate from PARA Paints. See dealer for full offer details.