Northern Geese - Bad news from the Saxon Parliament (1 Viewer)

The Saxon Parliament rejects goose hunting petition - sees no need for action



We have reported here often enough on the hunting of northern geese and unbridled and reprehensible hunting practices. These include hostility towards ornithologists to the extent of physical assault. In response to a petition submitted jointly by the NABU Saxony and the Ecological Station Borna-Birkenhain, with over 2000 signatures, the Saxon parliament tabled the subject of “Hunting of Northern Geese in Saxony” in its 15th session on 21 April 2005. The petition called for an end to the shooting of Bean and White-fronted Geese which are winter visitors to Saxony. In spite of the fact that shooting of birds which have covered 5,000 km from their breeding grounds to their winter quarters in Saxony is directly comparable to the slaughter of our breeding migrants in Italy en route to wintering sites in the south, the petition was rejected on the grounds of the danger of potential damage the wild geese could cause to crops. Instead, the justification for the rejection by the petition’s committee states that the shooting is permitted “… in accordance with the methods of established management of wild geese since 1996 ,which is carried out in the approved manner.” This means in accordance with the regulations where it is laid down that “the hunting of geese is to be carried out primarily on the area of damaged crops with the aim of deterrence. No hunting is however to take place on the night roost waters. Hunting is also forbidden on alternative feeding sites such as harvested maize fields.” Additionally, it is stated that “the hunting season from 1 November to 15 January should include only such periods during which local conditions are such that there is no danger of hunters confusing species. Consequently, the shooting of species which are not covered by the hunting law, will be treated as a criminal offence.”


As documented in particular in the reports on “Ornithological observations in Saxony”, an increasing number of non-huntable, rare and endangered goose species are to be found among Bean and White-fronted Geese flocks, which may at present be hunted, in the Leipzig rural area and in North Saxony. These include Red-breasted Goose, Lesser White-fronted Goose, Pink-footed Goose and Barnacle Goose, which fly with the flocks and are consequently at threat from this form of hunting. The reality in the Leipzig lake district, which is concentrating on development of tourism, is very different – the “tourist factor” is indeed completely ignored. In the immediate vicinity of the roost waters, such as the Borna reservoir, the Witnitz open-cast ponds or now at the newly-flooded Lake Störmthal where a roost has been established for the first time this winter, hunting is carried out to such a degree as to make complete nonsense of the parliament’s findings. Hunting is particular popular in the early morning when the geese fly up from their roost and light conditions make correct identification impossible. The hunters shoot haphazardly into the midst of the flocks of geese. Over 20 injured and grounded geese were found this season alone in these few roost locations south of Leipzig. They are then easy prey for the White-tailed Eagle, which digests the lead in the body of the goose and poisons itself.

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