MADISON, Ala. — A North Alabama homeowners association is pressing ahead with a plan to remove hundreds of Canada geese from a neighborhood lake, even after residents sued to stop the cull and another nearby HOA reversed a similar decision amid public pressure.
Heritage Plantation in Madison approved a plan to kill up to 500 geese, according to local reporting, after years of complaints about sanitation, water quality, and damage to common areas. Residents then filed suit in Madison County Circuit Court, arguing the association misrepresented USDA guidance and failed to clearly explain that “removal” would mean the birds would be killed.
The dispute comes just weeks after the Edgewater HOA, also in Madison, drew protests for voting to euthanize more than 200 geese at Lady Ann Lake before reversing course and forming a wildlife subcommittee to study alternatives. The Edgewater episode helped turn the goose issue into a broader public fight over how homeowners associations should manage wildlife on private property.
In the Heritage Plantation case, attorneys for residents have said the HOA relied on a USDA agreement for “humane goose capture activities,” while opponents argue the board moved too quickly toward lethal control. Court proceedings have been complicated by judicial recusals, leaving the timing of any temporary restraining order uncertain.
A July 2 report said the USDA reportedly captured and euthanized 550 geese from Heritage Plantation on County Line Road in Madison, though the full circumstances around that operation were not immediately clear from the available reporting. The Migratory Bird Treaty Act protects Canada geese, but federal permits can allow capture and killing under certain circumstances.