By Lee florintine
Two facts about geese:
– In nature, geese fly over hundreds of kilometers each year with their pack.
– In certain cultures, geese are a symbol of loyalty, due to their steady relationships with a single partner throughout their entire lives.
Not this gander. He never had the chance to fly, run or be loyal to a fellow goose. This gander was locked for five years in a kindergarten, in a small cage – 2 meters wide and 1.5 meters long – with no water pool around him, no ability to fly or run, all alone. Five summers and five winters of total isolation. If our subject was a human being, we would have called this place ‘dungeon’ instead of ‘petting zone’, and our gander would have been a prisoner – not a pet.
Freedom is a basic right. This rescue operation has given our gander that right.
The cage opened. He did not struggle or resist, so humiliated and alone, until there was nothing left to do but to submit to these humans who locked him, let them do with him as they please.
After the rescue operation, he was released near the river, intoxicated with freedom he was too happy and overwhelmed he couldn’t figure out what to do, after five years of limited moving ability.
His life begins now. Maybe the goose of his life is waiting for him out there.
A Gander’s Story » חוות החופש