SEOUL – The so-called “goose agents”, which made headlines recently after their use at a Brazilian prison, appear to be increasingly deployed at farms and factories in South Korea in recent months.
Several cases have emerged of agricultural and industrial facilities in rural areas using domestic geese as guard animals. One example, reported by the Korean-language daily Chosun Ilbo, is a steel factory in Pyeongtaek, Gyeonggi Province, which reportedly bought four geese for night-time security.
“Repeated thefts were giving me headaches, and an acquaintance suggested I should get geese. They cost less than jindo dogs (indigenous species in Korea known for their loyalty and ferocity), and are easier to manage,” factory owner Jeong Tae-ho was quoted as saying.
A farm in Yangju, in the same province, reportedly saw its guard geese chase away a trespasser in a car, with male geese’s loud honking and aggression being “beyond imagination”.
In 2023 and 2024, several international media outlets reported that a prison in the Brazilian state of Santa Catarina replaced patrol dogs with geese. The birds were said to patrol the space between the inner fence and outer walls, showing aggression towards out-of-line inmates.
The reports also quoted affordability as the main appeal for using guard geese.
While not generally considered a particularly intimidating animal, geese have actually been used for security throughout history.
A record shows that geese alerted the Romans during the Battle of the Allia in 387 BCE, and there have been cases of the birds being used to supplement dogs, drones or humans at warehouses and even military and police facilities worldwide.
Geese tend to make loud noises when approached by strangers, and are deceptively strong due to their large size. They are known to be loyal and friendly to a human they perceive as a pack leader. THE KOREA HERALD/ASIA NEWS NETWORK
