The Rotary Club of Guelph feels terrible that two geese died during their fireworks display on New Year's Eve at Riverside Park.
They also said they have tried several methods to try and ensure the birds' safety over the years.
The Guelph Humane Society confirmed reports of dead and injured geese on Monday night and that they removed two dead geese on Speedvale Avenue the next day.
"We are sorry to hear about these geese," said Rotary's Paul Taylor who has been involved in organizing the fireworks for several years.
"We have tried several methods in the past with very limited success," Taylor said.
They tried putting volunteers into the river and walking around shooing the birds away, but Taylor said this is dangerous to the volunteers if the water is high and that "unless you walked right up to the birds in the water they didn't move."
"They are very accustomed to people, not like geese living in the wild," Taylor said.
"We have tried air horns and, again, unless you went right up to them this didn't work very well."
The last few years Rotary has fired off a single loud firework a few minutes before we start the big show.
"This has had very limited success. A few birds will fly off. Most often the geese stay in the water until the opening shells are fired, then they fly off," Taylor said.
"This year with the down pour of rain right at 8pm it might have had been a factor in the birds getting airborne. This is the first time we have had rain during our New Year's Eve celebrations.
"We will continue our efforts to protect the birds as much as possible in the future."
The Humane Society has said it will work with the city on trying to further ensure the birds' safety in the future.
