News Wildlife damage
Catching and killing wild geese remains allowed
The capture and killing of wild geese remains permitted. Based on European animal welfare standards, the Aninmal Rights Foundation asked Minister Carola Schouten of Agriculture, Nature and Food Quality to take enforcement action against a company that catches and kills geese with a provincial exemption.
The geese are herded into a trap and then gassed in a trailer. According to Animal Rights, this is a veterinary act to which European animal welfare standards apply. However, the minister states that this legislation does not apply, because it does not apply to hunting.
The Trade and Industry Appeals Tribunal agrees with the minister's reasoning. Capturing the wild geese from nature is on a par with hunting because of the short time the animals spend in the trap and the purpose of killing. For this reason, the geese are not animals kept by the company and the regulations of the Animals Act do not apply.
A lot of damage
Geese are by far the biggest cause of damage to agricultural crops. Data from BIJ12 (the implementing organization for, among other things, fauna matters of the provinces) shows that €2020 million in compensation for damage has been paid out over 31,6. Of that amount, 90% relates to damage caused by geese to grassland. The actual amount of damage is probably higher because by no means all damage is reported.
Jurphaas Lugtenburg
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