Täby County, Sweden, Is Going To Cull Barnacle Geese Because Of Their Pooping On The Lawn

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BACKGROUND | SOURCE ANN NOVEK – WITH THE SKY AS THE CEILING AND THE HEART OUTDOORS

My county, Täby Kommun (County), is going to cull 20 Barnacle Geese ( almost all of the flock) because of their droppings in public parks.

This decision is outrageous because 14 % of all Barnacle Geese are wounded from hunting. This shows as well how humans of today are totally alienated from Nature and Wildlife. They prefer pollutions of all kinds before little droppings on the lawn by Wildlife.

We must also remember that every 8th bird is threatened by extinction and that there’s a biodiversity loss of 50 000 species each year.

WHOM TO CONTACT

Write protest letter to Game Keeper Jan Ledberg:

tabykommun@taby.se

SAMPLE LETTER

Dear Game Keeper Ledberg,

I am extremely alarmed to learn of Täby Kommun’s decision to cruelly massacre 20 Barnacle Geese. I respectfully request suspension of this violent strategy.

Please allow me to elaborate. First, killing geese does nothing to modify landscapes and waterways that attract them in the first place. I encourage officials to work with avian experts on population stabilization and site aversion.

Second, sweeping eradication does not reduce long-term growth. Killing geese artificially increases food supplies to the remaining geese, the consequence of which is increased reproduction and an ensuing greater population. In fact, studies have demonstrated that the continual cycle of seasonal eradication is responsible for a rebound, or larger gaggle populations, in subsequent years.

Third, using such barbaric strategies in such a visible location will most certainly affect visitation: agents typically enter the pond area during early morning, roughly separating goslings from parents, and then stuff the bound, panicked geese and babies into crates. Next, the geese are gassed or shot to death. In fact, although I do not currently reside in Täby Kommun, I would be unwilling to consider it, or a nearby location, for tourist purposes if this cull ensues.

Please practice compassion and integrity: let the geese live and institute responsible policies that promote respect and tolerance of wildlife, and commit to habitat/landscape modification as outlined in Friends of Animals’ Canada Goose Habitat Modification Manual (http://friendsofanimals.org/sites/default/files/Goose%20Habitat.pdf) in addition to instituting a formal clean-up plan for goose droppings.

Thank you for taking the time to consider this urgent appeal.

cull no more.
keep death
away from
our door.
here’s the scoop…
you also poop!

Karen Lyons Kalmenson