Gray goose invasion makes for record early hunt
Several municipalities are moving up the goose hunt by two weeks to cope with large goose flocks that graze on their lands.
Large flocks of 500 to 700 gray geese that visit a farm to graze and shit, are causing problems for the agriculture, according to the newspaper Nasjonen.
Some municipalities in Nordland, Sør-Trøndelag, Vest-Agder and Møre og Romsdal therefore start the hunting season early, starting from 26 July. Ordinary hunting for grey geese is from August 10 to December 23.
– The goose likes to graze on the field. Fewer and smaller farms actually contribute to even greater strain on the agricultural areas that are left. The reason is that the goose is picky and selects the best areas to graze upon. When thousands of them arrive in a small area were they hoodle down and cover with shit, they make havoc. The excrement makes the peasants moan when they harvest, and it affects the feed, says Agricultural Director at the County Governors office in Trøndelag, Tore Bjørkli.
The Norwegian Institute for Nature Research (Nina) estimates that there are between 16,000 and 21,000 pairs of gray goose pairs in Norway.
© NTB Scanpix / Norway Today