Petition to NOT let animals in the OVP-area in the netherlands starve to death.

[Marijn]

In the Netherlands we have the "Oostvaarders Plassen".

Its a fenced-off reserve with an enormous population of Red-deer, Koninck-horses and Bos domesticus (of whitch I trully don't know the Brittish name).

Populations of all three grazers have exploded in the last decade, and have now effectively exceded the capacity of the reserve.

The managing organisation "Staats Bosbeheer" or SBB (State Forestry service) refuses to controle the population by culling, believing "nature will take its course".
If by nature they mean thousands of dead and starving animals their quite right.

The petition calls for SBB to start managing the numbers by culling and not letting the animal suffer until they die of starvation.

At the petition site there is also a link to a documentary on youtube to illustrate the situation.

So PLEASE SIGN!!!

http://www.thepetitionsite.com/803/...n-in-de-oostvaardersplassen-niet-verhongeren/

[video=youtube;CyQuwg568JY]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CyQuwg568JY[/video]

 

[Bushwhacker]

Good old fluffy brigade! How can nature take its course without an apex predator?

 

[tedw]

I've signed!!!

 

[Andy BB]

Good old fluffy brigade! How can nature take its course without an apex predator?

Actually, "Nature" will do just that. Starvation is one of the two normal ways for animals to die in the wild - the other is getting ripped apart by a predator. Without the predator, starvation takes over - all perfectly "natural".

 

[Marijn]

Actually, "Nature" will do just that. Starvation is one of the two normal ways for animals to die in the wild - the other is getting ripped apart by a predator. Without the predator, starvation takes over - all perfectly "natural".

The fence around the area is also perfectly natural....

Another negative effect of the insane amount of grazers is that there is little grass etc. left for migrating geese that stop at the OVP.
The geese in turn start grazing the reedlands in the area thereby destroying the breeding and living area for quite a lot of rare birds (spoon-bills, Great Bittern etc.)

 

[Bushwhacker]

Actually, "Nature" will do just that. Starvation is one of the two normal ways for animals to die in the wild - the other is getting ripped apart by a predator. Without the predator, starvation takes over - all perfectly "natural".

Nothing natural about being fenced in and unable to search for pastures new.

 

[Elen Sentier]

I've signed ...

 

[Expat]

My comment on the petition -

Nature can NOT "take care of itself" when man has already interfered by confining these animals in a concentration camp with no natural predation.
Through man's interference, this project has turned into an arena of torture.......
It is high time responsibility is taken for misguided intentions and manage the area professionally...

And while on the subject, I believe that this is something we are going to see very soon in the U.K. with the deer population...

 

[ReamviThantos]

i wonder when they will start culling or otherwise "managing" the species clearly responsable for the most destruction of the natural enviroment. I'm sure the rest of the worlds populations would be overjoyed.

 

[Dougster]

We're so cruel to shoot what we eat. Far better to let nature take it's course, ahem......

That's a quite horrendous film, for a deer to be so weak it falls and cannot rise from humans or drowning is awful.

 

[Bushwhacker]

My comment on the petition -

Nature can NOT "take care of itself" when man has already interfered by confining these animals in a concentration camp with no natural predation.
Through man's interference, this project has turned into an arena of torture.......
It is high time responsibility is taken for misguided intentions and manage the area professionally...

And while on the subject, I believe that this is something we are going to see very soon in the U.K. with the deer population...

Just look at what happened in Somerset. This was 10 years ago. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/1432322/Threat-to-deer-as-TB-is-found-near-sanctuary.html

 

[andybysea]

maybe if we had'nt done in all the predators both over there and here we would'nt have such problems.

 

[Andy BB]

Oh, for heavens sake, people! You're right, fencing off has created an artificial environment. But, please, remember what "nature" is - red in tooth and claw. Animals - in the wild - die either from starvation or being torn apart by a predator. Even cuddly bunnies.....

There are no care homes for old and sick animals - in the wild, anyway. You want "natural"? Let them starve. You want "un-natural"? Cull them.

Personally, I'd go for culling - its clearly a managed environment, and as such we should treat the animals better than "Nature" does.

 

[johnnytheboy]

There is some crazy laws in the netherlands is there not, esp when you talk about goose shooting, you guys can shoot migratory geese unless you jump through hoops!

 

[Dougster]

Oh, for heavens sake, people! You're right, fencing off has created an artificial environment. But, please, remember what "nature" is - red in tooth and claw. Animals - in the wild - die either from starvation or being torn apart by a predator. Even cuddly bunnies.....

There are no care homes for old and sick animals - in the wild, anyway. You want "natural"? Let them starve. You want "un-natural"? Cull them.

Personally, I'd go for culling - its clearly a managed environment, and as such we should treat the animals better than "Nature" does.

I agree nature is cruel, but it also puts in place predators which don't allow a 90 period of pain, more like 90 seconds. It is inconceivable to allow nature to take it's course when man has already fouled it up.

 

[Niels]

You failed to mention that the animals have been extra fed over some winters. That's the reason the population got so unnaturally big in the first place, besides the lack of natural predators. I signed it too. No need for all this meat to go to waste, and the animals die a terrible death.