| Summary: | In the period 1965-1985 numbers of migrating geese wintering in The Netherlands increased notably: from approximately 100.000 to 600.000 birds. Not all these birds are present during the whole winterseason: a maximum of about seventy percent of the total number of geese occurring in The Netherlands is present at the same time during the month of January. Along with this spread in time, geese are distributed geograffically, mainly over the lower parts of the country. In this respect the province of Friesland plays a significant part since almost sixty percent of all wintering geese stay in this northern province for a longer period.Since some goose species (Branta leucopsis, Br. bernicla and Anser brachyrhynchus) have a close season, and others (Anser anser, A. fabalis and A. albifrons) can be shot only during a certain period (from September 1st till January 31th) and time of day (half an hour before sunrise till 10.00 a.m.), any damage caused by goose-grazing is completely compensated for by the Dutch government, more specifically the Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries.A side-reflection is the recognition that all scaring techniques are effective only for a fairly short period and require not only persistence but also the presence of an area where the geese can be scared to, either a refuge or a place where they will be tolerated. This is not yet the case. Along with the increase in geesenumbers a steady rise in the number of complaints by dairy farmers became manifest every year.Per province an annual review of all complaints concerning goose-damage is presented as well as the crops concerned. Over ninety percent of these complaints concern goose-grazing on pasture land, in more than ninety seven percent restricted to the province of Friesland, the main problem being yield losses at first cut.Yearly amounts paid by the Game Fund to compensate for these losses increased from sixthousand Dfl. in 1974 to one and a half million Dfl. in 1984; every year more than half a the total amount is paid to Frisian ...
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