Nuremberg suffers from a geese plague.
To bring the situation under control, the geese's eggs are sterilized.
A new hunting law makes this project legal.
Nuremberg – The city of Nuremberg has a problem: geese, and too many of them.
These became a real plague in the Franconian city and especially on Lake Wöhrder.
Other lakes in the city are also affected, but it is most evident at Wöhrder See.
There is talk of an overpopulation from the official side.
Geese droppings are also becoming more and more of a problem for the city and public space.
In order to counteract this, those responsible ensure that the eggs of the animals are made sterile and in a legal way.
Hunting law allows procedure: Goose eggs in the breeding season should be made sterile
Employees of the city of Nuremberg keep a targeted lookout for goose eggs with search boats and place them in the so-called Schierkasten.
In it, the eggs are illuminated with a lamp and you can see whether there is an embryo inside.
If there is no embryo in the egg, it is punctured with a cannula to allow bacteria to enter and stop any possible development.
At least two eggs are not prepared.
In the event that no chicks would hatch, the geese would start breeding again, the
Nuremberg News
reported.
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Nuremberg is struggling with a plague of geese (symbol image).
© Imago Images/Anette Jäger/Panthermedia
This process started in March and is expected to continue until the end of May, when the geese breeding season is over.
The Bavarian hunting law allows the so-called clutch treatment of goose eggs, provided that it is used when there is a plague of geese.
The law allowed this as early as May 2022, but it will only be used in the current breeding season.
According to the Nürnberger Nachrichten
, André Winkel, spokesman for the public space service, hopes that
the overpopulation of geese in Nuremberg will be reduced.
According to their estimates, around 150 gray geese and Canada geese live at Lake Wöhrder in Nuremberg.
Geese droppings become a problem: high cleaning costs
Another problem for the city of Nuremberg is the droppings of the geese.
The habitat of the geese, such as the Wöhrder See or the city park, is located in the middle of the city, where many people are also out and about.
According to the
Nürnberger Nachrichten
, the geese and their droppings cost tens of thousands of euros.
Sunbathing lawns or other places must therefore be cleaned regularly.
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Making the goose eggs infertile is the current solution proposed by the city of Nuremberg to bring the goose plague under control.
In 2018, the city released geese for shooting.
After several protests from animal rights activists, the city changed this decision again.
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List of rubrics: © Imago Images/Anette Jäger/Panthermedia
