Virginia: Wildlife Damage Management Services
APHIS Wildlife Services works with Federal, State, and local agencies to assist citizens of the Commonwealth of Virginia with resolving damage caused by wildlife.
Your Wildlife Services State office can help in the following ways:
- Technical assistance for managing wildlife damage, including consultations via phone and email
- Predatory wildlife damage prevention and management services
- Assistance with obtaining bird depredation permits (permission to remove birds using certain lethal methods)
Need Help With Wildlife Damage?
Virginia Wildlife Services
Contact Virginia's Wildlife Services office for guidance and services that can help you manage and prevent wildlife damage.
For assistance with migratory bird permits or general inquiries:
Virginia State Wildlife Office
For assistance with wildlife conflicts:
Virginia Wildlife Conflict Helpline
Email: vawildlifeconflict@usda.gov
Phone: 855-571-9003
Wildlife Damage Management in Virginia
In cooperation with Federal and State agencies, Wildlife Services works to prevent and manage damage to agriculture and property caused by wildlife. In Virginia, Wildlife Services primarily assists with the following situations:
- Reducing impacts to livestock by coyotes and vultures
- Protecting infrastructure such as roads and airports from birds and mammals
- Managing conflicts with migratory birds such as Canada geese
- Protecting threatened and endangered species from other wildlife
- Eradicating invasive species like nutria and feral swine that threaten natural habitats
Learn more about our work in Virginia:
The presence of feral swine, or feral pigs, has increased across the United States over the past several decades, causing damage to agriculture, natural resources, and public and private property. The Wildlife Services program is working closely with the Virginia Department of Wildlife Resources to detect and remove these destructive animals from the Commonwealth.
You can help by reporting the location and date of feral swine sightings in Virginia to the Virginia Wildlife Conflict Helpline or through the Squeal on Pigs reporting app.
Management of resident Canada goose damage to people, property, and agriculture involves protecting lands from Canada geese as well as removing goose nests and eggs.
Virginia farmers can apply for a permit that allows them to use certain lethal methods to remove resident Canada geese on lands they control and where the geese are damaging crops. Those who may qualify include landowners, operators, and tenants actively engaged in commercial agriculture. Agricultural producers may apply for the permit at no cost by calling the Virginia Wildlife Services office's main line at 804-739-7739.
Resident Canada geese often come into conflict with citizens and can cause damage to public and private property. Effective management of these conflicts in Virginia requires a year-round, multifaceted approach involving multiple partners, including the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS), the Virginia Department of Wildlife Resources, municipalities, and landowners. One important component of this management strategy is reducing nesting success to curtail population growth.
While Canada geese are protected under State and Federal laws, there are legal ways to manage goose nests. The Resident Canada Goose Nest and Egg Depredation Order (50 CFR 21.50), issued by FWS in 2006 and updated in 2019, authorizes landowners and local governments who first register with FWS to oil or destroy goose nests and eggs on their property to resolve conflicts.
To obtain authorization to complete these activities, you must register online between January 1 and June 30 of the year that the eggs and nests will be destroyed. This registration is free. Registrants must also report to FWS the number of nests treated or destroyed by October 31 of each year.
For more information on the goose nest and egg depredation order, or to register to manage resident Canada goose nests, visit the FWS website.