Goose issues

Once a threatened migratory species during the 1950s, the Greylag goose is currently considered as being overabundant and causing significant problems, especially in northern Europe which hosts the majority of a nowadays sedentary population. Conservation actions, climate change and intensification of agriculture have had unexpected consequences: in seventy years, this species’ geography and annual calendar have completely changed. Culling operations have been introduced in some countries, upsetting French hunters who would rather like to harvest the species for an extended period, which the European Birds Directive does not allow.

In such a situation, how can the conservation of this species be balanced against the prevention of risks for human activities? This book first describes the changes that occurred for Greylag geese in western Europe, then explains the biological foundations of the current legal regulation, and how an innovative adaptive management process has been introduced by the European authorities.

This book is for managers, policy-makers and, more generally, anyone interested in wildlife. It aims at contributing to the national debate about Greylag goose management, through the provision of an up to date review of current scientific knowledge and recent political decisions regarding biodiversity conservation at large.

Read the foreword  -  Dr Jacques Trouvilliez