Orkney goose management project enters final year

The Orkney greylag goose adaptive management pilot allows local people to control the resident greylag geese population.

Licensed shooting takes place with experienced local guns in August and September before migratory birds from Iceland arrive in October. This helps keep the population down to reduce impact on farming while maintaining the species’ conservation interest.

Geese taken as part of the pilot project will continue to be recorded and numbers monitored in the summer. The aim is a sustainably managed goose population which generates income for local people.

Resident greylag geese in Orkney have increased over the past 20 years. The estimated population in 2001 was 1,500 birds which peaked at 22,911 in August 2014. The goose count in August 2015 showed a small reduction in the population with 21,354 birds recorded.

The pilot project is being trialled in Scotland under the auspices of SNH and advised by the National Goose Management Review Group (NGMRG).

In Orkney the project has been developed and managed in conjunction with the Local Goose Management Group (LGMG) which includes NFUS, SGRPID, Scotland’s Rural College (SRUC) and local farmers.

Gail Churchill, SNH’s Orkney operations manager, confirmed: “We undertook this initiative in response to the concerns of local farmers and land managers. Over the last four years the project has managed to prevent the expansion of the population of resident greylag geese in Orkney which without the project shooting could be in the region of 50,000 birds.

“Last year around 5,800 resident greylag geese were shot on Orkney and the target for this year is 7,000. The work will be undertaken by experienced local shooters following established best practice methods, and overseen by Scotland’s Rural College staff.

“This active management work will help us meet our nature conservation obligations by maintaining a sustainable and stable resident greylag goose population. It has the support of the British Association for Shooting and Conservation (BASC) who have been working closely with all of us involved in this new form of adaptive management control.

“This is the final year of the pilot project and at the end of this season the Local Goose Management Group will be reviewing it and identifying ways in which the population of greylag geese can continue to be managed sustainably.”

The National Goose Management Review Group (NGMRG) recommends each of the pilots is guided by the same three objectives of national goose policy which underpin existing goose schemes.

This will meet the UK’s nature conservation obligations for geese within the context of wider biodiversity objectives; minimise economic losses experienced by farmers and crofters as a result of the presence of geese, and maximise the value for money of public expenditure.

To see the terms and conditions attached to the general licence see: http://www.snh.gov.uk/protecting-scotlands-nature/species-licensing/bird-licensing/preventing-damage/ and http://www.snh.gov.uk/protecting-scotlands-nature/species-licensing/bird-licensing/

There are currently four greylag goose pilots in Scotland which enable local people to manage resident greylag goose populations; one in Orkney; one in the Uists; the scheme in Coll and Tiree, and another in Lewis and Harris.