Gaggle of Cambridge University students criticise geese-cull plans
Rapidly growing Canada goose population is health hazard but quarter of King’s students sign petition to spare the birds. It’s been an exasperating week for Philip Isaac, domus bursar at King’s College, Cambridge University. It all started with an impassioned letter from students which, invoking the words of Gandhi, called for the peaceful coexistence of scholars and geese. It was only a matter of time before the press got wind of the petition. Journalists flocked to cover the story of the college that’s murdering its wildlife. The cause of the dispute? The local gaggle of Canada geese at King’s has grown rapidly over the past three years and is now proving a health and safety hazard, but students say culling the animals would be cruel and inhumane. Isaac said he wasn’t surprised by the controversy, but he pointed out that no one is campaigning on behalf of the college mice and rats, who faced a similar fate. “I’m sure most institutions like this have issues with animals like that. Carpet moths, do they have a right to live?” he said. “They eat a huge amount of grass,” said Isaac of the geese, adding that the birds pass excrement various times an hour. “It’s the lower-paid staff who are clearing it. Students aren’t clearing it. The trouble is it’s a health hazard. There are lots of diseases that can be spread through their excrement which can be quite nasty to humans.” The geese have even been known to attack members of the public queuing for evensong. King’s – and its neighbouring colleges – is searching for ways to move the birds off the college grounds. It has debated whether to install an audio box that plays the sound of a strangled goose for three minutes every hour. It has also considered mounting laser on the top of its historic buildings, but the option was ruled out because of concerns it might damage students’ eyesight. “You can purchase what are known as decoys, a cardboard cutout of a wolf or something,” Isaac said. “We chose not to because we didn’t want people taking photos of our cardboard cutouts, and to become the butt of everyone’s humour.”
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