TheToronto Blue Jays' seasoncame to asudden end in October, and relief pitcher Erik Swanson marked the death of the birds' season by killing even more birds — at least 17 of them.

Swanson shared a post on Instagram this past weekend, posing with one of his two children in front of the corpses of at least 17 Canada geese hunted by the pitcher in Roseau, Minnesota.

The 30-year-old shared the photo accompanied by the caption, "Starting the off-season outdoors!"

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Erik Swanson (@swannypops)

As bad as the abrupt anddisastrous postseasonwas for the Jays, I'd say these Canadian birds met a more violent end in Minnesota than the boys in blue did at the hand of the Twins earlier this month.

Before anyone starts sharpening their pitchforks, hunting Canada geese is perfectly legal during the approved hunting season in Minnesota, from Sept. 23 through Dec. 22.

While goose hunting isn't against the law this time of year (with a permit, of course), a handful of commenters have replied to Swanson's post calling out the North Dakota-born reliever for shooting a bunch of birds.

"What a sad sight," says one commenter, while another remarked, "What did they ever do to you!?!?!"

Another chimed in, "Canada Geese? It's tragic as I live on one of the flight paths and love hearing them fly over in spring and autumn," adding, "I must ask is this all to eat or just for sport."

Just as many commenters replied with messages of support for Swanson.

"Thank you for doing your part to control the Cobra Chickens!!!!" reads one reply.

Others note that, while locals in Toronto may know these animals best for their aggression and prolific pooping abilities, they actually make pretty good eating.

"Looks like a very nice hunt! Time to breast them and throw them in the frying pan."

Animal welfare concerns will always be raised when it comes to shooting animals en masse; however, Canada geese populations have increased dramatically in recent decades, and hunting is considered an accepted means of population control.

TheGovernment of Canada notesthat "most regional surveys show that Canada goose numbers are either increasing or stable, but overall they are at unprecedented numbers."

The government estimates that there are seven million of these birds present in North America, an alarming rebound from the near-extirpation of the species in parts of Canada just a half-century earlier.

Swanson has since responded to the blowback, explaining that he was merely attempting to teach his son a valuable lesson about where his food comes from.

I am an avid hunter/fisherman and I will always be. For the people who are asking me why I have my son with me, I am teaching him a very important life lesson… the beef, venison, poultry, fish, fruits and vegetables all come from somewhere, not just the grocery store.https://t.co/siEF1PI7Bc

— Erik Swanson (@Erik_Swanson03)October 17, 2023

Swanson explained in a follow-up post, "Now when he hunts and he harvests his own food, he knows exactly where his food is coming from and what is in it."

“下次你去杂货店或restaurant and order something, remember that it had to come from somewhere. Know what you are eating! Safe hunting to all!"

As for comments worried about the volume of geese shot, Swanson explained, " I was in a group with 7 legal hunters this day. The limit per person is 5 geese a day, in the state of Minnesota."