Ecomare

The greylag goose used to be a very common bird in the Netherlands. The numbers declined sharply at the end of the 19th century due to hunting and loss of good habitats. However, the population has grown since the 1980s. When the Oostvaardersplassen was created, a very large habitat for greylags formed in the Netherlands. Hunting greylags has been banned since 2002, when the Flora and Fauna Act became enforced. However, the Provinces often issue exemption to be able to hunt greylags. For example in 2011 on Texel, 48 licenses were issued to shoot 2579 greylags. In the meantime, a large group of nature and hunting organizations is trying to come to agreement concerning the shootings. This group, called the 'Ganzen-8' (Goose-8), wants to bring the population of greylag geese back to the level of 2005, around 100,000 birds.

The first greylag geese returned to Texel in 1974, after a long period of absence. Thirty years later, the population had grown so much that the birds were responsible for much damage in grasslands. Eight geese eat the same amount of grass as one cow. That is why eggs are pricked in the spring.

In 2008, permission for pricking the eggs was requested too late and therefore no eggs were pricked. Because of the tremendous number of additional geese and the damage to both nature areas and farmland, it was decided to capture the excess number during the molting period and gasify them. A total of 4461 geese were captured and gassed, leaving 2200 geese over. Three months later, 4200 geese were counted on Texel. According to nature managers, the geese must also be combatted in surrounding areas to achieve success.
Various nature conservationists do not find this form of fauna management effective. Their motto is 'land gets the birds it deserves'. In other words, modern technique has made farmland more suitable for geese (as opposed to meadow birds for which it has become less suitable). Based upon observations of geese departing for the mainland, the local birding society believes that the 3000 greylag geese found on the island in the month of May is the maximum the island can maintain and that no more geese will even try to nest here. It is necessary to let the system reach an equilibrium; removing geese from an unbalanced system will only allow geese from other areas to fill in the 'holes'.

The judge eventually decided that geese are not to be gassing. Suitable means of killing birds can be found in European regulations, and gassing is not one of them.