A plan to relocate a flock of domestic geese in the Victorian tourist town of Daylesford has drawn concern from some local tourism operators, who say the geese are a popular Instagram drawcard.

The Hepburn shire council will vote on Tuesday night on whether to relocate the 30-odd domestic geese, which have been living on Lake Daylesford in increasing numbers for several years.

The move follows a number of complaints about the birds to the council, and reports that aggressive geese have “intimidated” visitors.

In a detailed report to the council, biodiversity officer Brian Bainbridge recommended the geese be relocated, at cost of $2,750, to save the council an annual spend of $5,000 in trying to clean droppings off the jetty and footpaths, and to reverse the presumption that the council is overlooking a crime – to whit, the abandonment of domestic animals – for the sake of a picturesque vista.

He said the animals would not be harmed in the removal. They are reported to be headed to an appropriate property on the Mornington Peninsula.

“Effort has been taken to identify a contractor with a high degree of experience in carrying out similar moves and appropriate rehousing of domestic waterfowl,” he said.

Bainbridge said there were also significant environmental benefits to removing the geese, whose long-term presence can cause algal blooms that would kill aquatic vegetation, making the lake unsuitable for native waterfowl such as black swans.

But he warned that removing the geese posed a possible “reputational risk” to the council from both residents and visitors. Disappointment and opposition from some sections of the community was anticipated.

“Interaction with domestic waterfowl on the lake is an attraction for some visitors and residents while negative interactions with protective geese may reduce the appeal of the lake in the short term for others,” he said.

Among those disappointed with the proposal is Daylesford Lake House co-owner Alla Wolf-Tasker, who told the ABC the geese were commonly photographed for Instagram.

In a statement, the Lake House said the geese were “enormously popular with guests” and “bring a vital sense of ‘country’ to the lake environs essential in continuing to attract visitors wanting to escape the urban jungle”.

The geese do feature prominently on the social media platform.

“There is no question that the geese have become a feature of the lake – there are literally thousands of photographs of them over all social media platforms,” the Lake House said.

“It’s possible that it may be prudent to reduce the flock a little; but we hope that there will be more deliberation and consideration taken.”

The Lake House said it had only seen the geese “acting in a protective manner” during nesting seasons, but noted that magpies do the same. It also said that the lake was still home to “an abundance” of other native birdlife.

Some local businesses have begun rallying their followers in defence of the birds.

Wolf-Tasker said there would be a social media backlash if the geese were removed.

“The geese provide an enormous amount of pleasure to a lot of people,” she said.