Chinese border city turns to out-of-the-box ally to help contain imported Covid-19 cases: geese
- Geese are practical “border agents” because they make a lot of noise when approached by strangers
- Near Vietnam, the city of Chongzuo has a rugged border that can be difficult to patrol
A Chinese city is deploying a strange ally as the country tries to keep its borders sealed to prevent possible imported cases of Covid-19: geese.
“We have a long dividing line that covers rivers, plains as well as dangerous mountains. In certain areas where technology like surveillance and drones are not available, we have to resort to people, dogs and geese; everything we can think of,” an official surnamed Li from the command centre’s publicity department told the South China Morning Post.
“Geese are a good supplement to dogs because they are sensitive to sounds and squawk loudly when they see a stranger. In fact, sometimes they can be more aggressive than dogs,” he said.
He said they are also quickly available because they are among the most common livestock in the water-rich region, which features Karst mountain landscapes.
Li said that a basic epidemic checkpoint squad normally comprises a couple of border agents, two geese and a dog.
In early December, two patrollers at one checkpoint in Longzhou caught two people attempting to cross the border after their geese “agents” alerted them, China News Service reported late last month.
Since the coronavirus pandemic emerged in central China’s Wuhan over two years ago, the Chinese government has built an enforced wire mesh fence along its southern border with Vietnam and Myanmar to prevent potential infections from illegal migrants.
As of Wednesday, there were 73 patients of Covid-19 being treated and 126 asymptomatic carriers under observation in Chongzuo city, all being imported cases, according to the Guangxi government.
