Goose management project renewed

July 31, 2014 at 2:57 pm

The increased population of Greylag geese in Orkney has caused problems for the county’s farmers over the past 20 years.

A project to manage geese populations in Orkney is set to enter its third year.

Licensed shooting with experienced local guns will again take place in August and September, allowing local people to control the resident greylag geese population.

The Orkney greylag goose adaptive management pilot is organised by Scottish National Heritage (SNH) and the National Goose Management scheme.

Geese taken as part of the pilot project will be recorded and numbers monitored in summer. SNH report that the goose count in August last year recorded 20,242 birds which represents a 5 per cent decrease since the August 2012 count when 21,367 birds were recorded.

Last year the pilot project also saw the sale of wild goose meat through licensed outlets in the county, which will continue this year from August to July 2015.