An Ontario man has been fined after pleading guilty to “harassing and attempting to injure” Canada geese last year.
Ontario’s Natural Resources Ministry announced this month that Essex resident Joseph Brugge was ordered to pay Ducks Unlimited Canada $1,000 to support migratory bird management, habitat enhancement or protection near the location where the offence was committed.
On May 23, 2025, the ministry said conservation officers were contacted by the Ontario Provincial Police to assist with an investigation involving Brugge.
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“With help from the public, a conservation officer was able to determine that while Brugge was at the Belle River Marina, located in the Municipality of Lakeshore on the shoreline of Lake St. Clair, he caught a Canada goose gosling and attempted to injure adult geese by throwing large rocks and swatting at them with his hands,” the ministry said.
“Canada geese are federally protected migratory birds, and the public is not permitted to catch them with their hands or attempt to injure them.”
Justice of the Peace David M. Horton heard the case in the Ontario court of justice in Windsor on Feb. 2. Brugge pleaded guilty to capturing, harassing and attempting to injure Canada geese under the federal Migratory Birds Convention Act.
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