Yes, they're protected:
"Canada geese are protected by the United States Fish and Wildlife Service under the Migratory Bird Treaty Act of 1918 and the Migratory Bird Conservation Act of 1929...."
There has been considerable grumbling in places to the effect that a lot of Canadian geese are no longer truly migratory, that they find a nice park or (especially) golf course with short grass and still water and stay put year round. Some municipalities hire dogs to chase them off because of the stuff they leave behind. One goose is not a problem; flocks of them can be. We have quite a few wintering over at a nearby preserve so they don't bother us in the city.
On the other hand we have thousands of crows, (peak estimate around 60,000) some of which have been dissuaded from perching downtown by use of fireworks and other loud noises at dawn and dusk when they gather. The local car washes do a banner business this time of year.
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