It’s been a busy week to say the least. A week ago the story about the savage action of SMBC was broken by the Birmingham Mail. The video exploded onto youtube and then the news spread to The Express and Star, The Daily Mirror and The Daily Mail. Of these I only spoke to the Daily Mail who contacted me. Then on Tuesday I was contacted by BBC Radio WM. I was told that Maria Crompton (booo hisss), was going to be on the show with presenter Mollie Green. Would I like to come on- is the Pope Catholic?<\/p>\n
This is available to all on iplayer for a couple of more days- so make the most of it. We have recorded a copy for evidence purposes.<\/p>\n
http:\/\/www.bbc.co.uk\/programmes\/p024qf3c<\/a><\/p>\n What I find most disturbing about this interview, despite the loss of 220 birds, was Crompton’s total lack of understanding of the issue and the revelation that despite being the cabinet member responsible, according to the FOI request that verbally authorised this murder, she was unable to answer when questioned as to HOW THE BIRDS HAD BEEN KILLED. The transcript of the show reads as follows at the 43.00 minute mark into the two hour show:<\/p>\n MOLLIE GREEN: “So the adults were killed?”<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n MARIA CROMPTON “We did take the adults and they were “humanely destroyed”.<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n MOLIIE GREEN: “How were they destroyed Maria?”<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n 7 second silent\u00a0pause<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n MARIA CROMPTON: “I don’t know how they were destroyed, I know that they were taken to one of our farms and erm the company that is erm that took them are fully licensed by Natural England and that is what their job is to “humanely destroy”…. these….these geese.”<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n MOLLIE GREEN: “And you have no idea how?”<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n MARIA CROMPTON: “I don’t know how they killed the geese, no.”<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n <\/p>\n It’s worth pausing to read Sandwell Council’s full statement on this issue. Most of it is not worthy of comment due to the misguided and misinformed slurs on Canada geese- an obvious attempt to make people- especially with children fear and loath a harmless creature.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n “Councillor Maria Crompton, Sandwell Council’s cabinet member for highways and environment, said: \u201cNo-one would want to have to do this \u2013 but unfortunately, as a responsible authority, we had no choice but to reduce the number of Canada Geese at these two parks.<\/span><\/em> We have rubbished most of these remarks and hers in a previous post, but there\u00a0 is more\u00a0detailed rebuttal needed which will appear in a future post. It appears that this “discreet place” was obviously a Sandwell Farm, as evidenced by Crompton’s on air admission. WE THEREFORE APPEAR TO HAVE CONFIRMATION THAT THESE SANDWELL GEESE WERE KILLED ON SANDWELL COUNCIL PROPERTY.<\/strong><\/p>\n It has come to our attention that Councillor Crompton is a keen horse rider, and we wonder if she makes a point of clearing up after her horse when it needs to go to the toilet on a highway or down a country Lane. All those germs in those big hefty piles Councillor! Think of how many children could go blind rolling in it, and if they inadvertently swallow some- I perish to think of what might happen. Then they are so aggressive aren’t they with those big teeth that they have, and those big long legs for kicking people with!\u00a0 I think it would be\u00a0better if SMBC introduced rocking horses at Sandwell Valley and at the working farms. Rocking horse shite doesn’t harm anyone.<\/p>\n Some animals are obviously more equal than others, and obviously this also applies to the shit that they produce as well.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" It’s been a busy week to say the least. A week ago the story about the savage action of SMBC was broken by the Birmingham Mail. The video exploded onto youtube and then the news spread to The Express and … Continue reading
\u201cI\u2019m very sad we had to do this but people\u2019s safety and public health are paramount. We have done this as a last resort and as humanely as possible in response to repeated complaints and real concerns from park users, including parents of young children.<\/span><\/em>
\u201cWe\u2019ve tried pricking and oiling goose eggs in the past to try to reduce numbers, and continue to do so, but we find this has little effect.<\/span><\/em>
\u201cWith more than 1,000 geese grazing in our parks and a pair of geese rearing anything from four to eight goslings a season, the numbers had got out of control, especially at Victoria Park, Tipton, and Dartmouth Park, West Bromwich.<\/span><\/em>
\u201cA large flock defecating every few minutes can deposit a great deal of mess. They can foul lawns and footpaths and can have environmental impact on the quality of parks, green spaces, lakes and pools. The droppings contain bacteria and may be harmful if inadvertently swallowed.<\/span><\/em>
\u201cWe receive numerous complaints from families with young children complaining about the mess they leave and their aggressive behaviour during the breeding season.<\/span><\/em>
\u201cThe increase in numbers has had a detrimental impact on other waterfowl. We\u2019re trying to re-introduce more ornamental ducks back into the formal parks \u2013 but before we do, we need to control the numbers of Canada Geese to acceptable levels.<\/span><\/em>
\u201cWe appointed a company licensed by Natural England. Geese were taken to a discreet place completely away from public view, in line with accepted methods. Clearly, we wouldn\u2019t have wanted people to see this happening in the park.<\/span><\/em>
\u201cWe hope this action has brought the numbers of geese down to more manageable levels in these parks, making them safer and cleaner for park users, especially children.”<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n