WEST ASHLEY, S.C. (WCBD) – Residents living in West Ashley are upset after dozens of geese were quietly removed from their neighborhood and euthanized.

Residents like Caroline Crease have lived in the Village Green neighborhood for years. “I’ve lived here for 27 years; in the same home, it’s on this beautiful pond which is where many geese will have their families,” she explained.

Crease said the geese are part of the community.

“I’ve seen geese lose their babies, have their babies – you know, move around the neighborhood. I am just absolutely speechless at what’s taken place,” she said.

She recently realized that she had not been seeing all the geese they usually have. “It felt weird walking around the neighborhood because there weren’t any geese,” she said. “It didn’t dawn on me until I found out they were gone.”

Crease went on to say, “The geese were taken off in the middle of the night and euthanized. 70 of them.”

Jim Woods, Vice President of the Village Green Homeowner’s Association Board said he the geese have been an ongoing problem.

He said they add bacteria to the ponds which have started to kill off some of the fish; they’re also contributing to the edges of the ponds collapsing, which will be expensive to repair if not addressed.

Woods told News 2 the board did not notify residents ahead of time before voting to have the geese removed because they wanted to keep it as quiet as possible due to potential backlash.

We’re told a government agency removed the geese and that they were euthanized and later donated to a food bank.

Crease said she cannot believe this happened.

“I think it’s horrible. I think it’s the most horrible thing and there’s got to be steps you take before you do something like that; I mean, I just think it’s wrong. They just had babies in April. It’s just very upsetting.”

Residents say it seems like one goose is still in the neighborhood.