Provincial officials in Utrecht have been given the green light to gas Nile geese which cause a nuisance and destroy crops by the Council of State.

But the country’s highest court ruled shelduck, greylag geese and Canadian geese are protected species at a European level and cannot be gassed.
The case was brought by the fauna protection society Faunabescherming after Utrecht gave the go ahead to the mass gassing of various geese and ducks for causing damage to farmland.
Earlier stories
Flocks of geese threaten safety at Schiphol
Minister may back hunting geese for pleasure
Nature, farm and hunting groups agree goose cull plan