Respondent spread 24 respondents 14 from South Mainland Lyall - - PDF document

05/09/2014 1

Preliminary Results of the Shetland Greylag Goose Survey

Lyall Halcrow Graduate Placement – Environmental Health Shetland Islands Council

Respondent spread

• 24 respondents
• 14 from South

Mainland

What is affected?

• 92% of farmers affected
• Geese target fertilised crops particularly
• Vegetables: turnips, carrots, potatoes
• Grasses: barley, oats, rape, pasture

Financial damage

• Total damage of £109,770
• Average of £4,990 per farm
• Does not include damage to pasture or

silage.

Turnip damage

• Two thirds reporting damage of 90-100% of

their entire crop.

• Three quarters have stopped growing.
• Twelve reported damage
• Damage valued at £54,575

Other vegetable damage

• Substantial damage to carrots and

potatoes.

• Two respondents experienced significant

financial damage to carrot crops

• One gave up after losing an entire crop

05/09/2014 2

Permanent grassland / Silage damage

• Goose damage from eating, trampling and

droppings.

• Increased re-seeding

Two farmers have reduced stock Keep animals inside for longer / increase feed imports.

Droppings

• Half raised concerns about droppings
• Concerns about animal health
• Two thought research had to be done

concerning droppings and diffuse pollution.

Current goose scaring methods

• Rated each method used out of 10
• Shooting – 3.2/10
• Visual scarers – 2.4/10
• Auditory scarers – 2.1/10
• Selecting fields for cropping 1.1/10

Difficulties in limiting damage

• Large numbers (average flock size 400) – 95%
• Legislation – 57%
• Availability of shooters – 40%
• Knowledge of methods – 10%

Rating possible improvements in management methods

• Extension of open season – 8.6/10
• Egg oiling – 8/10
• Remove restrictions on wild meat – 7/10
• More commercial / private shooting 7/10
• Compensation – 6/10
• Funding for scaring – 5/10
• Funding in the SRDP – 5/10

The open season

20 40 60 80 100 120

Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul % of respondents experiencing goose damage

The open season for hunting geese; 1st September - 31st January Half of damage is out with the open season

05/09/2014 3

Population size

• Overall population of resident and

wintering geese: 8400

• Most frequent: deduction to 2000 (a

quarter of the present population)

• Average: reduction to 974 (an eighth of the

present population)

Summary

• Famers feel the population is at a

unsustainable level.

• On average they are losing £4990 per year.
• Changing cropping patterns.
• Stopped growing certain crops.
• Problems with the availability of local

produce.

• Current control methods are ineffective.
• New thinking is needed to control the

population.