Geese 'herded' from town's canals

Sam will get in the water and start herding the geese

A Warwickshire town has come up with a four-legged solution to the problem of an ever-rising population of Canada geese on its waterways.

Sam the border collie and three other canine colleagues are regularly taken out on boats in Stratford-upon-Avon to scare off the geese.

The population has been reduced from 700 to 100 in just four months.

Andrew Cooper, from the Town Partnership said the geese had scared off swans and even some visitors.

The dogs are farm dogs, used to herding geese, and have been trained to tell the difference between the geese and other birds.

Water herding

In some cases the dog is lowered into the water and herds the geese around.

"The geese see the dogs in their life-jackets and they fly away.

"Some will return but others stay away. There is a chance they may return later but the population has been reduced which is what we wanted," Mr Cooper said.

GeesePeace, as the scheme is known, was first introduced in America and Stratford is thought to be the first town in England.