Trump Orders Canadian Geese to be Renamed ‘Donald Ducks’
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump on Friday directed federal wildlife agencies to stop using the name “Canada goose” and to adopt “Donald Duck” as the official designation for the large, honking waterfowl that congregate on lawns, golf courses, and airport runways across the United States.
“They’re not Canadian,” Trump said in the Oval Office. “They live here. They eat here. They make a mess here. We’re calling them Donald Ducks. It’s a better name. Stronger. Very American. A lot of people have been saying it.”
The order instructs the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the Department of the Interior, and the USDA to update field guides, hunting regulations, bird-strike reports, and all federal signage. Officials said the change would apply to Branta canadensis wherever the birds appear on U.S. soil, including migratory flocks that merely pass through.
A senior administration official said the president had reviewed other options — “American Geese,” “Trump Geese,” and “Winning Waterfowl” — before settling on Donald Ducks. “He liked that it was already familiar,” the official said. “People know the name. They know the attitude.”
Canadian officials called the move “unilateral and biologically inaccurate.” A spokesman for Environment and Climate Change Canada noted that the species was named for the country, not the other way around, and that millions of the birds nest in the Canadian Arctic each summer. “We will continue to call them Canada geese,” the spokesman said. “The birds have not been consulted.”
Ornithologists described the rename as “taxonomically meaningless.” The American Ornithological Society, which maintains the official English names of North American birds, said it had no plans to amend its checklist. “The goose does not become a duck because a memorandum says so,” one biologist said.
Disney, which holds trademarks related to Donald Duck, issued a brief statement saying it was “reviewing the announcement” and reserved all rights. White House officials said they did not anticipate a problem. “It’s a different Donald,” one aide said. “Ours is bigger. Louder. More territorial.”
Practical complications surfaced immediately. Airport wildlife-control units, which log thousands of goose strikes each year, said incident reports would need new drop-down menus. Golf course superintendents asked whether “Donald Duck droppings” would appear on maintenance logs. Manufacturers of Canada goose parkas declined to comment on whether labels would change.
State wildlife agencies in the Midwest, where the birds are abundant, said hunting seasons, bag limits, and license language would require revision if the federal name stuck. Several wardens noted that hunters would still be shooting the same animal.
Asked whether other species were under review, Trump said he was “looking at a few,” including the English sparrow and “those French poodles,” but that the geese were the priority. “They hiss at people,” he said. “Very aggressive. Very Donald.”
The birds themselves have not altered their behavior. Flocks continue to occupy corporate lawns, honk at joggers, and refuse to move for groundskeepers. Park rangers have been told not to correct visitors who use the old name.
Implementation is expected to proceed in stages after the Lake Michigan and Grand Canyon orders. No date has been set for the first official “Donald Duck” sighting report.
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