Tim Klazinga is director of Tabitha primary school and the adjacent De Wilgen primary school. After hearing that some of his students had been attacked, he wrote an email to parents. He recommends avoiding the cycle path in the park as much as possible. “If you stay a bit on the side of the bus lane and don’t give them too much attention, things usually go well,” he wrote in the email.
The municipality of Haarlemmermeer advises against following the geese, for example to film them. “This only makes them more alert and aggressive,” says a spokesperson. He emphasizes that the Egyptian goose is naturally more aggressive than other types of geese and protects its nest very well.
Lax due to warning signs
To warn passers-by about the aggressive behavior of the birds in the park, the municipality placed warning signs during an earlier breeding season. Those signs remained in place after last year’s breeding season, making people take the warning less seriously. “It always seems like breeding season now,” says local resident Mary. She stays away from the geese when she walks through the park with her dog.
The municipality informed residents last week that the signs will be removed this year after the breeding season. Last year the municipality captured a group of nuisance geese and brought them to Drenthe. The municipality spokesperson does not rule out that the aggressive Egyptian geese will have to be moved, but that is not the case yet.