Description: A documentary that focuses on the aftermath of the avian flu threat in the National Botanical Garden of Belgium during the summer of 2006. Up until then vast geese populations resided in this botanical garden. However, the birds both disrupted the local ecosystem and posed a potential health hazard because of avian flu. Consequently, drastic measures were taken to reduce their numbers. A ban on feeding by visitors was imposed and part of the geese population was–allegedly–gassed and eradicated. The film follows a micro-community of regular visitors who are strongly attached to the animals. Throughout the film they fiercely debate the relationship between man and the natural world, intolerance and aggression. They divulge alternative scenarios to handle the problems and contrive their own ecological analyses. It is evident that they are appalled by the events, and some try and show recorded traces of the apparent annihilation. Interestingly, this seems to be a widespread global phenomenon. Local pressure groups and action committees recurrently emerge to battle similar events in other countries. The rhetoric is often extremely anthropocentric and characteristically borrows vocabulary from the Holocaust.
Director: Angelo Vermeulen
Year: 2007
Length: 23 minutes
Country: Belgium
Contact: Angelo Vermeulen
Leopold Il-laan 31 b2
B-9100 Sint-Niklaas/Belgium
mobile: +32 485 711556
landline: +32 3 7668999
email: angelovermeulen@inbox.com
Website: www.angelovermeulen.net
Using film for earth science education
