Are Geese Protected Under Indiana Law: Penalties, Permits, Hunting

Geese are protected in Indiana under both federal and state law. The Migratory Bird Treaty Act covers Canada geese, snow geese, greater white-fronted geese, and Ross’s geese, and Indiana Code Title 14 adds a second layer enforced by the Indiana Department of Natural Resources. Killing, capturing, relocating, or disturbing geese, their nests, or their eggs without authorization is illegal, with federal fines reaching $15,000. Hunting during designated seasons and permitted nuisance management are the main legal exceptions.

Which Geese Are Covered, and by Which Laws

The Migratory Bird Treaty Act of 1918, codified at 16 U.S.C. 703–712, is the backbone of goose protection nationwide. Every goose species commonly found in Indiana falls under it, whether the birds migrate through or live here year-round. Under the MBTA, it is illegal to kill, capture, sell, trade, or transport any protected migratory bird — or its nests, eggs, or parts — without prior authorization from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.¹ “Take” is read broadly enough to cover shooting, trapping, poisoning, and collecting.

Indiana does not simply defer to the federal rule. Indiana Code Title 14, Article 22 governs fish and wildlife, with Chapter 6 addressing birds and mammals specifically.² The IDNR enforces the state provisions and coordinates with USFWS. Anything you do with a goose has to satisfy both sets of rules. A federally compliant hunt that skips an Indiana license is still illegal, and a state nuisance permit does not substitute for federal registration when nests or eggs are involved.

Penalties for Harming Geese

A standard MBTA violation is a misdemeanor carrying a fine of up to $15,000, up to six months in jail, or both. Knowingly killing or taking a migratory bird with the intent to sell escalates to a felony punishable by up to $2,000 in fines, up to two years in prison, or both.³

Indiana adds its own reimbursement on top. Under IC 14-22-38-5, a person who illegally takes or possesses a wild animal other than a deer or turkey must reimburse the state $20 for a first offense and $35 for each additional violation, with the money going into the conservation officers fish and wildlife fund.⁴ Those amounts stack per bird and sit alongside any criminal penalties a court imposes.

What You Can Do About Nuisance Geese Without a Permit

Resident Canada geese on lawns, retention ponds, and parks cause most of the friction with property owners, and they are fully protected. Trapping, capturing, relocating, or killing them outside of hunting season without a permit is illegal.⁵

You do not need a permit to scare or haze geese, as long as the birds are not injured, touched, or physically handled by a person, dog, or equipment.⁵ USFWS confirms the same principle: no federal depredation permit is required to harass or scare migratory birds, with narrow exceptions for eagles and federally listed threatened or endangered species.⁶ Visual deterrents like flags and reflective tape, noise devices, and habitat changes such as letting shoreline vegetation grow tall are all allowed.

When You Need a Permit

IDNR Nuisance Permits

When hazing is not enough and geese are causing economic damage or safety problems, you can request a free permit from the IDNR through its online portal. One permit is needed per county, and only someone with legal authority over the property — a landowner, HOA president, or property manager — can apply. The IDNR can issue these permits without a separate federal permit from March 11 through August 31 each year. Removing live geese, including goslings, requires a separate permit beyond the standard nuisance authorization.⁵ The permit does not override local ordinances or authorize trespassing on other property.

Nest and Egg Destruction

Destroying a Canada goose nest that contains eggs is a federal crime unless you register first with USFWS. Registration is free and completed online through the Resident Canada Goose Registration system.⁷ It opens January 1 and runs through June 30, and it must be renewed annually before any nest or egg is disturbed.⁵

Eligible registrants include private and public landowners, HOAs, and local governments. Landowners must be at least 18 and must identify any employees or agents acting on their behalf.⁷ Three approved methods can render eggs nonviable: shaking the egg vigorously for at least 60 seconds, puncturing the large end with a sharp object, or coating it with 100 percent corn oil to block air exchange.⁵

Registrants also have to use non-lethal methods as appropriate to reduce the need for nest destruction, and every registrant must file a year-end report on the number of nests and eggs destroyed, even if the answer is zero. Failing to file blocks re-registration in future years.⁷

Legal Goose Hunting in Indiana

Hunting is the other main legal path, and Indiana stacks several requirements on top of each other. Missing any one makes an otherwise legitimate hunt illegal.

Licenses and Stamps

Every goose hunter needs a valid Indiana hunting license. A resident annual hunting license is $20, and an Indiana waterfowl stamp privilege is $11.⁸ Hunters 16 and older also need a federal Migratory Bird Hunting and Conservation Stamp, commonly called a duck stamp.⁹

Before hunting, you also have to register with the Harvest Information Program and record the validation number on your license. HIP registration is required for all migratory bird hunters in Indiana, including lifetime license holders and resident landowners hunting their own property.⁹ The registration places you in a sampling pool for later harvest surveys and does not track how many birds you actually take.¹⁰

Bag Limits and Seasons

The daily bag limit for Canada geese and brant is five in the aggregate. For light geese (snow, blue, and Ross’s), the daily bag limit is 20. Possession limits are typically three times the daily bag.¹¹

Indiana splits the state into North, Central, and South zones with different season dates. For the 2025–2026 season, all three zones include an early September segment and a long late-season stretch running from late November through February 15, 2026, with a mid-fall segment that varies by zone.¹¹ White-fronted goose season shares the late-season window across all zones. Check the IDNR’s current season page for exact dates, since they shift annually based on USFWS frameworks.

Ammunition

Federal law prohibits lead shot for waterfowl hunting. Any shot used has to be nontoxic, meaning it cannot contain 1 percent or more lead by weight.¹² Steel shot is the most widely used option, and USFWS has approved more than a dozen alternatives including bismuth-tin, tungsten-matrix, and copper-clad iron.¹³ Using lead shot while waterfowl hunting is a federal violation regardless of state.

1
U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service. Migratory Bird Treaty Act of 1918
2
Justia. Indiana Code Title 14 Article 22 – Fish and Wildlife
3
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 16 USC 707 – Violations and Penalties
4
Indiana General Assembly. Indiana Code 14-22-38-5 – Fines Unlawful Taking of Other Wild Animals
5
Indiana Department of Natural Resources. Canada Geese Abatement, Hunting and Permits
6
U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service. 3-200-13 Migratory Bird Depredation
7
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. Resident Canada Goose Registration FAQ
8
Indiana Department of Natural Resources. License Fees
9
Indiana Department of Natural Resources. Waterfowl and Migratory Game Bird Hunting
10
U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service. Migratory Bird Harvest Surveys – What We Do
11
Indiana Department of Natural Resources. Migratory Game Bird Seasons and Regulations
12
eCFR. 50 CFR 20.134 – Approval of Nontoxic Shot Types and Shot Coatings
13
U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service. Nontoxic Shot Regulations for Hunting Waterfowl and Coots in the US