High-profile tennis club kills its long-term resident geese for pooping on the court

A gaggle of geese at an upscale private tennis club in Canada went viral a few years ago when their pictures were posted on social media by the officials themselves. However, the birds have now been shot dead because they were making a mess on the court. In fact, the club hired marksmen to kill the geese as neighbours reported hearing gunshots on the morning of July 16. Eight of the birds were found dead later the same day, including goslings.

The club, which charges £2,664 in annual fees plus an entrance charge for new members of £2,000, has a high-profile clientele. Located in St George's Hill Lawn Tennis Club in Weybridge inside a gated private estate known as "The Hill", it has been visited by music legends Sir Cliff Richard, John Lennon, Sir Ringo Starr and Sir Tom Jones. Sports personalities like John Terry, Sue Barker, Jenson Button and 1966 hero Sir Geoff Hurst have also lived at the estate in the past.

Club had earlier welcomed the geese

In April 2025, the tennis club shared a photo of two adult Canada geese with two goslings on its social media handle. "We have baby goslings on our Lakeside Terrace!" it wrote. The year before that, they shared a photo of the birds on the court in the rain. But now the geese seem to have become a nuisance, leading the club to take the extreme step, and it is now facing flak for it.

Two geese that survived were found in a distressed state

Club members are furious to learn that the geese were shot dead. One of them said that an adult and a gosling which survived the cull were found "in a distressed state wandering the local area". They added that the club claimed the geese "were pests and murdered them by the club's lake." The angry member said that the club could have just given them to local wildlife organisations.

One of the members told The Times, "The members have always liked the geese. It is sometimes a bit annoying because they amble on to the courts and leave their poo. But that does not mean they had to be shot. Another said that the members were not consulted before the extreme step was taken, and that the "birds were part of the beautiful setting."

Meanwhile, the club's chief executive, Miles Hill, said in a statement that the decision was taken "on the grounds of public health and safety". Adult Canada geese poo every 6 minutes, totalling nearly 1 kg a day. Hill added that the grounds staff were unable to keep up with the volume of faeces.