Martinigansl: only about a third of the geese from Austria

Austrians eat around 1,300 tons of goose meat per year, which is around 0.13 kilograms per person – or the equivalent of one goose meal. However, this only comes from Austria in about one in three cases. Although self-sufficiency with Austrian geese is slowly increasing, the majority of geese come from countries like Hungary. These end up on the plate especially in the catering industry. According to estimates, between 70 and 80 percent of the goose meat in the catering trade does not come from Austria. Hannes Royerfounder of the Land Creates Life association, says:

“Austria plays an absolute pioneering role in goose fattening. Without exception, every Austrian goose has a run. At EU level, there are not even minimum legal standards for keeping geese. So you can imagine how animals are kept in countries like Hungary. Unfortunately, thousands of imported geese from farming methods that are not even permitted in our country end up on Austria’s plates every year – and most of the time without consumers knowing what they are actually eating. We finally need mandatory labeling of origin and husbandry, also for the catering industry.”

Big price differences to imported goods

The strict requirements for keeping geese in Austria make it significantly more expensive than those abroad. This is also reflected in the price. This year the price differences in purchasing are particularly large. Fresh Austrian Gansl costs an average of around 10 euros per kilogram more wholesale than the frozen product from Hungary. In 2023, the imported geese were significantly more expensive. The reasons for this were higher raw material prices and losses due to bird flu.

No Austrian goose without a run

According to the Austrian Animal Husbandry Ordinance, every goose – regardless of whether they are kept organically or conventionally – must have access to a run. A maximum of 21 kilograms of geese may be kept per square meter of space in the stable. There are about four geese at the time of slaughter. In addition, each animal must have at least 50 square meters of exercise space. If the animals have more space in the stable, then less space is sufficient: if a maximum of 15 kilograms per square meter is kept, at least 10 square meters of space per animal is sufficient.