Caring with abject urban animals: Tensions between exclusion and inclusion of Egyptian geese in the city

Abstract

In the context of current debates on care in animal geographies, this article examines care practices for Egyptian geese in the German city of Frankfurt am Main, drawing on empirical research. Since urban policies, legislation, discourses and related affects frame Egyptian geese as invasive, polluting and health-threatening, I conceptualise the geese as abject urban animals. Their constitution as abject depends essentially on the fact that they inhabit urban spaces, but politics consider the city to be the wrong place for them. Therefore, Egyptian geese are excluded from the city, both imaginatively and spatially. However, affective and embodied entanglements form between the geese and some people, leading them to care for the animals. Through the practices of feeding, aiding injuries and political advocacy, the carers work for the inclusion of the animals as significant co-inhabitants of the city. This article aims to explore the complex tensions between the exclusion of Egyptian geese in urban politics and the attempts made by individuals to include them in the city through their care practices. This proves especially advantageous for research on care as specific links between affective and political dimensions of care become apparent.

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