Goose Exterminator of the Netherlands Enrages Animal Rights Activists

ScrAPES#1: Goose Exterminator of the Netherlands Enrages Animal Rights Activists 

by Andrew Higgins

June 14, 2015

          Mr. Den Hertog, 40 years of age, is the Netherlands' peerless expert in the theory and practice of killing large animals of wild geese. He recently killed 570 graylag geese in his portable gas chamber which totals the death toll in a weekly basis to 7,000 geese. Dutch authorities pays Mr. Den Hertog to decrease the population of wild geese. Due to a ban of hunting wild geese, their population has increased rapidly due to the farmers' increasing use of nitrogen-rich fertilizer and expansion of protected nature areas.

          This article is most interesting to me because I am an animal lover; the fact that I own four different kind of animals and growing up with mostly dogs and cats, I have adapted to loving and caring for animals. I feel tremendously sad that there are people in this world who would kill animals whether it is due to the increasing population, food, or medical use. Yes, food and maybe medical use is okay. But if you have to kill dogs or cats (which are most likely home pets to almost anyone) for food; for example in China they kidnap dogs and kill them for the Yulin Festival. That is not acceptable. It is sick and incredibly repugnant. This article reminded me of countries who kill animals for food or abuse them. 

          It is quite hilarious how the Dutch authorities allowed Mr. Den Hertog to kill wild geese due to the increase of population because WE humans are over populated as well. There are approximiately more than 7 billion people living on earth. There are fewer than 4 million babies born in the United States each year. How much more in other countries like China or Japan? Yes there are crimes anywhere we go and it will most likely seems like it is a way of decreasing our population but those crimes like murder are chosen by selfish desires, hunger, or mental illnesses. Geese do not have selfish desires or mental illness; they do not choose to kill one another. I doubt they even have hate for one another.


          This article is important to environmental science because it is endangering geese. It also takes part on the equilibrium of the ecosystem. Plants affect animals, vise versa. Geese are consumers who take part on receiving energy by consuming other organisms to form the food chain and balance. I believe that every living things have the right to live no matter how small or big they are.

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• Goose Exterminator of the Netherlands Enrages Animal Rights Activists