Animal Aid

The following culls are either planned or underway. Please write letters and emails of complaint to the addresses given, and if you know of wildlife culls in your area, let us know.

Save the Bridlington Rabbits

Rabbits in an East Yorkshire cemetery are to be killed by ferrets. Ferrets are used to terrify and chase animals in to a net where they are then ‘despatched’ by the ferreter.

East Riding of Yorkshire Council has sanctioned the killing because rabbits are said to dig unsightly mounds and eat the floral tributes. A local resident contacted Animal Aid, saying, ‘Having lost my Mum just over a year ago, I visit the cemetery on a weekly basis to lay fresh flowers on her grave. I was therefore outraged at the newspaper’s implication that the cemetery is overrun with rabbits that are causing damage and destruction throughout the grounds. As I informed the newspaper in my response to its article, my family and I will only occasionally see a rabbit or its droppings and the very worst damage we have encountered is the odd nibbled flower head.’

Please contact the council and urge it to spare the lives of the rabbits:
Email customer.services@eastriding.gov.uk
(01482) 393939

Stop Maidenhead shopping centre killing pigeons

The Nicholsons Shopping Centre in Maidenhead is currently engaged in a cull of pigeons on the high street, it claims their droppings are causing a nuisance and netting and spikes have so far been ineffective in deterring them. The poor birds are being cage trapped and 'despatched' or killed by a local pest control company. Often the killing is going on in public view much to the outrage of local residents and busineses alike.

Please write to the management at The Nicholson Centre and politely let them know that culling pigeons is cruel, unnecessary and a huge waste of money. Pigeons will quickly repopulate and the managment will be culling the birds indefinitely, causing ongoing cruelty and suffering. There are more humane and effective ways to control pigeon numbers that can be employed if the Centre choses to do so.

You can write to the Operations Manager at the Centre:

Howard Lindsey
Operations Manager
Centre Management Suite
The Nicholsons Shopping Centre
Maidenhead
Berkshire
SL6 1LB

or email him - howard.lindsay@mjmapp.com

Your support is much appreciated.

Save the Morley Pigeons

Morley Town Council in West Yorkshire has agreed to cull pigeons because of ‘damage to the Town Hall’. Culling is not humane and nor is it effective. Furthermore, damage to property is not a legitimate reason for culling under the General Licence and the Council is duty-bound to investigate non-lethal measures first.

Please contact Morley Council and ask them:

• How the damage to the Town Hall, which has been cited in the papers as the reason for the cull, amounts to a risk to public health and safety.
• What non-lethal methods have been tried.
• How the non-lethal methods have proved to be impracticable or ineffective.

Email addresses:
town.clerk@morley.gov.uk
Cllr Louise Bentley

Cllr Neil Dawson

Cllr Janet Harrison

Cllr Joe Tetley

Cllr Wenda Whitehead

Cllr David Dewhirst

Cllr James Bright

Cllr Andew Dalton

Cllr Simon Kimberley

Send letters to:


The Worshipful the Town Mayor of Morley, Councillor Judith Elliott
Morley Town Council

Morley Town Hall

Queen Street

Morley

Leeds LS27 9DY

Boar in the Forest of Dean

The government has given the Forestry Commission the go-ahead to kill boar in the Forest of Dean. The shy, wild animals are charged with digging up lawns and eating bluebells.

Support the local Friends of the Boar group and visit its blog: http://friendsoftheboar.blogspot.com/

And write to local newspapers to oppose the cull:

Gloucestershire and Cheltenham News Series
The Forester

Hertfordshire and Isle of Dogs Parakeet Cull

Defra has begun a cull of an estimated 70-80 monk parakeets living in the wild. There were around 33 in Hertfordshire, now estimated to be 15-25 since the cull began The majority of the remainder are on the Isle of Dogs with a few scattered around. Defra claims the birds could pose a danger to crops, electricity pylons and other species, and the RSPB backs the cull. However, the report on monk parakeets, produced by the GB Non-Native Species Secretariat, says that the threats posed by the birds are relatively minor. Although Hertsmere Borough Council in Hertfordshire has rescinded permission for shooting the birds on public property, the birds are not safe as the ban does not extend to private property.

Culling of wild animals is both cruel and ineffective and, if serious problems with species arise, non-lethal solutions should be used.

Complain to Defra

Sign the petition

Read more

Save Pigeons in North Walsham

North Walsham Town Council is backing a cull of pigeons in the area. Traps are due to be set around the town centre, and any pigeons caught will be killed. Please politely contact the council and urge them to instead use humane, non-lethal methods to reduce pigeon numbers:

North Walsham Town Council
Council Offices
New Road
North Walsham
NR28 9DE

Telephone: 01692 404114

Please also contact North Norfolk District Council, which will be carrying out the cull:

North Norfolk District Council
Council Offices
Holt Road
Cromer
Norfolk NR27 9EN

Telephone: 01263 513811

Online contact form

Save Deer In Aberdeen

The cull of roe deer on Tullos Hill in Aberdeen is due to begin soon. The Council plans to plant a tree for every citizen but the funders of this project demand that the Council kills the deer to protect the new trees. Tullos Hill is a beautiful meadowland, which supports a host of wildlife and is an important archaeological site, with four cairns that were designed to be seen from each other. Planting trees will damage the ecosystem, destroy the views and mean the killing of animals who live there.

Could you:

1. Sign the petition
2. Write to Council Leader John Stewart at jdstewart@aberdeencity.gov.uk and copy it to Valerie Watts, Aberdeen City Council Chief Executive at chiefexecutive@aberdeencity.gov.uk, opposing the tree planting scheme.
3. Write a letter to the Press and Journal about this issue. The letter should be no longer than 150 words to stand the best chance of being printed. The email address to send it to is: pj.editor@ajl.co.uk.

Save Cheltenham Gulls

Cheltenham Borough Council is considering shooting gulls in an effort to control their numbers, following complaints about the amount of noise they make, even though, as autumn approaches, noise levels will naturally diminish anyway. Culls do not work, and in a matter of weeks bird numbers can return to pre-cull figures. And, of course, culling is never humane.

Please politely contact the council and urge them to use a humane method instead:

Cheltenham Borough Council
Municipal Offices
Promenade
Cheltenham
Gloucestershire GL50 9SA

Telephone: 01242 262626

Email Cheltenham Borough Council

Stop Killing Rabbits

Scottish Borders Council is paying a pest control company to kill rabbits who live on and near a non-league football pitch. Gala Fairydean Football Club was due to have an artificial surface laid. The work was delayed and, while waiting for it to resume, the Club decided to exterminate the animals who eat the grass.

Contact Scottish Borders Council via their online form.

Email Gala Fairydean Football Club on webmaster@galafairydeanfc.co.uk

Stop the Killing of Pigeons

Please contact Wycombe District Council and urge them to seek humane, non-lethal advice instead of killing pigeons in the town centre. Culls do not work, as new birds will move in to the area once the cull is over. And culling is never humane.

Wycombe District Council
Queen Victoria Road
High Wycombe
Buckinghamshire
HP11 1BB
Telephone: 01494 461000

Merton Council culling pigeons

Merton Council is using birds of prey to control pigeon numbers. Attempting to deter pigeons in this way is neither humane nor effective. Previous attempts in London and Nottingham have seen pigeons ripped apart in front of horrified residents and tourists. On top of this, in a matter of weeks, numbers can return to pre-cull figures.

Please politely contact the council and urge them to adopt humane methods of pigeon control instead. You can suggest that they contact the Pigeon Control Advisory Service (PiCAS) for advice on 0844 736 6272.

Contact Merton Council:
London Borough of Merton
Civic Centre
London Road
Morden
SM4 5DX

Telephone: 020 8274 4901
Email the Council

Deer in the Royal Parks

A deer cull has recently begun in two of the Royal Parks - Richmond Park and Bushy Park - despite protests and petitions from concerned members of the public. Please politely contact the parks and request that they find a humane alternative to culling:

Richmond Park Office
Holly Lodge
Richmond Park
Surrey TW10 5HS

Bushy Park Office
The Stockyard
Bushy Park
Hampton Court Road
Hampton
Middlesex TW12 2EJ

See an interview with Wendy Turner-Webster

Save the Grey Squirrels

The Red Squirrel Survival Trust wants to undertake a mass ‘eradication’ of grey squirrels on the Gower peninsula in Wales next year. Their aim is to rid the area of greys and ‘some years later’ introduce red squirrels. They are seeking the backing of the National Trust.

There is no guarantee that red squirrels could or would thrive in the area, even if there were no greys there. And the suffering caused to grey squirrels through trapping, shooting and poisoning is indefensible.

Please contact:
Red Squirrel Survival Trust
Hamilton House
Mabledon Place
London
WC1H 9BB
info@rsst.org.uk
020 7554 8579

National Trust
Trinity Square
Llandudno
LL30 2DE
01492 860123
enquiries@thenationaltrust.org.uk

Ring-necked parakeets

Natural England has recently announced that from January 2010 owners or occupiers of land will be able to cull ring-necked parakeets if they can demonstrate a ‘legitimate reason’ for doing so – such as health and safety concerns or damage to the environment. Defra sanctioned this decision.

Please politely contact Natural England and Defra to request that the policy is overturned:
Natural England
1 East Parade
Sheffield
S1 2ET
enquiries@naturalengland.org.uk
Telephone: 0114 241 8920

Defra
Customer Contact Unit
Eastbury House
30-34 Albert Embankment
London
SE1 7TL
helpline@defra.gsi.gov.uk
Telephone: 08459 335577

RSPB supports Squirrel Cull

The RSPB supports a wide-scale cull of grey squirrels (and also ruddy ducks and other animals and birds, too). Contact them to voice your opposition to their deadly policies.

Contact RSPB Media officers, Graham Madge (email grahame.madge@rspb.org.uk) and Richard James (email richard.james@rspb.org.uk)

Kew Gardens Culling Wildlife

We have recently found out that Kew Gardens culls foxes, grey squirrels and rats, despite portraying themselves as friendly towards wildlife. Culling is never a humane or effective method of population control.

Please contact them to voice politely your opposition to this cruelty:

Royal Botanical Gardens, Kew
Richmond
Surrey
TW9 3AB
Telephone: 020 8332 5655 / 020 8332 5000
Email: info@kew.org