The ethics of a cull of more than 100 geese in the Town of Nackawic, N.B. last year are being called into question after a scientist claimed the killings were carried out in a way that violates recognized standards.

Eighteen months ago, Nackawic’s waterfront park was home to hundreds of Canada geese - so many that the town labelled them out of control and sought a permit to destroy the birds.

A permit was issued by the Canadian Wildlife Service and 123 birds were exterminated.

“They released the information to me and it came back as…method of death was decapitation,” says bio-psychologist Heather-Dawn Wood.

Wood has a background in animal behaviour. She says decapitation is an accepted method of culling geese, but only if the birds are stunned or sedated prior to being killed.

Wood says that wasn’t the case and claims other guidelines were ignored.

“There's no such thing as a commercial guillotine to immobilize 250 Canada Geese and sure enough, when I asked for that information, it wasn't available either,” says Wood. “It stopped as soon as I re-presented Canadian Wildlife Service - now that I have it, decapitation on paper - I presented them with the guidelines that said you can't do that and all communication ceased."

The Town of Nackawic hired a private contractor to conduct the cull, but no one from the town was available to speak Wednesday.

While migratory birds fall under federal jurisdiction, the province trains and licenses private nuisance wildlife control officers. The Department of Natural Resources would only say its course is of high quality.

The Canadian Wildlife Service is disputing Wood’s claims. It says Environment Canada’s enforcement branch launched an investigation into the cull after receiving a complaint. It determined the operation was carried out in accordance with the conditions of the permit.

However, Wood maintains the unethical treatment of Nacawic’s geese may have marked the start of a disturbing trend in New Brunswick.

“The number of wildlife confrontations that we're having, their one and only method of dealing with wildlife is killing them,” says Wood. “It's the one and only one that they're choosing right now.”

With files from CTV Atlantic's Andy Campbell