6 ms·
In the US, shorebirds declined tremendously not because of habitat loss, but because of market hunting. [1] For example, in the South San Francisco Bay, market
by cjensen 10y ago
In the US, shorebirds declined tremendously not because of habitat loss, but because of market hunting. [1] For example, in the South San Francisco Bay, market hunters killed everything in sight and shipped the birds to San Francisco for food. Around 1900, SF consumed around 250,000 ducks annually.
Considering the food situation in North Korea, I'm really surprised those flocks exist. Perhaps it is due to a lack of shotguns outside of the military?
[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Market_hunters https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Market_hunters
[2] PDF http://downloads.ice.ucdavis.edu/sfestuary/skinner/archive1007.PDF http://downloads.ice.ucdavis.edu/sfestuary/skinner/archive10...
- cdr 10y agoNow shorebirds are declining because of overfed geese which we don't shoot enough of. http://netnebraska.org/article/news/1028942/farmland-buffet-helps-snow-goose-population-boom http://netnebraska.org/article/news/1028942/farmland-buffet-...
- dsfyu404ed 10y agoIt's a shame since they'd be practically impossible to miss on their landing approach and are very hesitant to take flight once on the ground. Wouldn't be hard to fill a freezer in one go.
- reactor4 10y agoThe thing is that if you shoot them when they're on the ground, say with a .22 caliber, then they will move because they'll know they're not safe. You will fill a freezer in one go and that will be it for this year, they'll move on their migratory path. And plenty of hunters miss them on their landing approach, it's not so easy for people who shoot one or twice a year when they go on their hunting trip.
- ChuckMcM 10y agoThat makes a pretty good case for farming the geese as well. Every year, near thanks giving, I listen to the food banks implore people to donate turkeys for the meals they prepare for the homeless and poor. And every year I hear this while walking around piles of Canadian Goose crap from birds that have stopped being migratory having found enough food and comfort in the Bay Area. And every year I think, "There is a very simple solution to this problem, at least for the short term."
- gozur88 10y agoI've never eaten one, but I've read they taste terrible.
- ams6110 10y agoI've never had a wild Canadian goose that I know of, but roasted gooose is quite tasty, used to have it every Christmas as a kid.
- WalterBright 10y agoI'm waiting for Wabbit Season.
- ChuckMcM 10y agoTaste is subjective. I've eaten wild goose (at a nice little restaurant in Zurich) and it was quite delicious, "smokier" than duck and "smoother" than venison. Doing a brief search for "Wild Goose Recipe" tells me there are lots and lots of ways to prepare them.
- brownbat 10y agoWhere did you read that? Goose meat tastes roughly like steak. It tends to sell for over $10 per pound. I know price isn't perfectly correlated with quality, but it didn't get high prices from nonexistent demand.
- gozur88 10y agoBut are those wild Canadian geese, or are those some other variety that were raised on a farm?
- Spooky23 10y agoThey won't eat it. Too gamey. Folks are used to mild chicken and turkey. Geese are more like duck.
- 10y ago
- Gracana 10y agoHuh, interesting. In Virginia we have problems with resident Canada geese. They eat everything, shit on everything, and taste terrible. http://www.dgif.virginia.gov/wildlife/problems/canada-geese/ http://www.dgif.virginia.gov/wildlife/problems/canada-geese/
- Aelinsaar 10y agoEven if they were available, how much would a shotgun + rounds cost in the DPRK? Where are you getting your Cosmoline, and such? Maybe the first thing you do is sell your gun and buy as much rice as you can.
- WildUtah 10y agoUncontrolled market hunting is dangerous to birds, but the biggest problem is habitat loss. Louisiana used to produce more food calories in wild birds hunted for human consumption than all the farms that were denuded for commercial growth produce today. The birds are mostly gone. [0] [0] Game Wars, by Marc Reisner, the greatest environmental journalist of the 20th century.
- emodendroket 10y agoThe famine ended a long time ago. Most North Koreans, while not wealthy, are also not starving.
- DanBC 10y agoWikipedia says the latest famine is still ongoing. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/North_Korean_famine https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/North_Korean_famine North Korea has warned citizens that famine is coming. http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/asia/north-korea-tells-citizens-to-prepare-themselves-for-famine-a6957901.html http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/asia/north-korea-tel... http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2016/03/29/north-koreans-told-to-prepare-for-new-arduous-march/ http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2016/03/29/north-koreans-tol... These make me believe that people in North Korea do still go hungry, and that even if they're not in famine they have severe food shortages.
- emodendroket 10y agoThe first link describes "occasional recurrences" since 2002 with a citation I can't follow. The second article describes efforts to hoard food to protect against a famine. Doesn't seem like evidence that there is, currently, a famine in North Korea.