‘15 days of economics’

Day 12: What has chicken pooh got to do with economics?

The Southern city of Lund in Sweden has been attempting to deter crowds gathering for festivals. The festival of Walpurgis Night is celebrated by tens of thousands of people in the city. The festival dates back to the pagan celebration of spring. However, the council are searching for initiatives to deter crowds from gathering due to the corona virus outbreak.

Sweden officially do not have a lockdown so technically, there is no legal problems with mass gathering. The council have decided to spread chicken manure to do so. They will dump a tonne of chicken manure in the city’s central park. The chairman of the local council’s environment committee expressed that the city could become a coronavirus epicentre so this initiative is completely necessary.

The chicken manure will not only deter crowds but it will also be beneficially to the fauna of the park. The manure contains phosphorus and nitrogen which will create a more prosperous wildlife which will benefit park. Plants and trees will grow stronger and faster.

Many of the Lund university students, who attend Sweden’s biggest university which is located in the city would gather in the park so they will be disencouraged to do this.