Request and Response:
Thank you for your Freedom of Information request objecting to the culling of geese within two of Sandwell Metropolitan Borough Council’s Parks. I have been asked to respond to your Freedom of Information request by our Chief Executive.
I note duly your comments and specific question regarding the cull and I will respond as follows:
Under no circumstances did we cull any goslings and with regards to relocating geese to other locations we can not do this as it is not permitted by Natural England.
With regards to scrutinising the decision to cull the geese the council process to scrutinise the decision beforehand would not have been relevant at that time the decision was made.
With regards to the pecuniary interest of Mr Satchwell; he has resided in the park for 40 years and has lived and continues to live with significant numbers of Canada geese. The decision to cull the geese was not anything to do with Mr Satchwell residing in the park. To suggest the reasons for culling the geese was because of fouling grass near his house is not factual, that is a presumption on your part.
I would welcome any suggestions you may have regarding alternative options beyond the ones you have already stated.
To answer your question regarding the variance in numbers I can inform you that counts have been undertaken over several years and there is clear evidence that geese can at times be migratory birds therefore numbers can fluctuate up or down.
Egg pricking has been an ongoing process for a number of years and to suggest this is not the case is incorrect and at one time you had to obtain a licence from Natural England to undertake such an exercise.
With regards to your specific questions I will answer them in order you raise them.
1. The number of complaints received from members of the public as recorded in the council’s complaints recording process for each year for the last five years concerning geese in Victoria Park, Tipton and DartmouthPark, West Bromwich.
The number of formal written complaints totalled 8:
- 0 in 2010
- 2 in 2011
- 2 in 2012
- 2 in 2013
- 2 in 2014
In addition to the numbers above, we constantly receive verbal reports from park wardens, gardeners in parks, volunteers and sporting organisations with regards to fouling of amenity areas and sports pitches by Canada geese and their aggressive behaviour during the breeding season - these are not formally recorded. Ultimately a combination of all complaints received led to our decision to undertake a culling programme.
2. The specific powers under which the culling decision was made, as devolved to the Council by government generally and specifically to the Cabinet Member (Councillor Maria Crompton) by the authority.
A licence was granted by Natural England to the company employed to undertake the work. I would refer you to the Natural England technical information Note TIN046 with regard to this
Councillor Crompton, as cabinet member for Highways and Environment, has the authority to authorise such actions under delegated powers as assigned in the council’s constitution Part 3 responsibility for functions
The Cabinet Member for Highways and Environment Portfolio Responsibilities are as follows. “Where not otherwise reserved to the Council, a committee of the Council or other body under the Local Authority Functions Regulations, or where authority has not been delegated to a Chief Officer and, in consultation with a relevant Cabinet Member, as necessary, to take responsibility within the Cabinet for all matters relating to (which includes specific reference to):
- The policy direction for countryside management, nature reserves, parks, green spaces and visitors centres.
- Environmental services including cleansing, grounds maintenance, public conveniences and the maintenance of water courses”.
3. Was Maria Crompton’s decision ultra-vires given geese are not classed as vermin?
In response to your question I would again refer you to the Natural England web site that legally allows Local Authorities to undertake such action.
4. If Maria Crompton has acted beyond her powers, what action will be taken to discipline this elected member?
No action will be taken against Councillor Crompton as cabinet members have the authority to authorise such actions under delegated powers.
5. Identify the names of all (if any) wildlife, animal rescue / sanctuary organisations or experts that were approached by the council for advice or support in analysing the most recent issue of excess geese in the parks, and similarly who may have assisted in generating solutions to the problem.
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Officers within the council have appropriate qualifications and experience to advise on such matters and discussions and actions on alternative control methods have taken place; from pricking eggs to planting water margin plants, fencing water edges to discouraging over feeding. These are tried and tested methods but we have still failed to reduce the numbers to manageable levels within our formal parks. One of the officers spent a number of years working for the Wild life trust and two colleagues have degrees in Environmental studies.
6. Identify the total number of other culls performed by the Council over the last 5 years, and for each, provide details of the date, the species involved and number of animals per cull, plus the specific powers used to support each decision.
No other culls have taken place previously to 2013 and 2014 and the powers used are referred to in my response to question 3 and 4. The number of Canada geese culled during that period has totalled 220. 150 Canada Geese in 2013 from Victoria Park, Tipton and Dartmouth Park, West Bromwich and 70 Canada Geese in 2014 from Victoria Park, Tipton.
If you are dissatisfied with the handling of your request, you have the right to ask for an internal review. Internal review requests should be submitted within two months of the date of receipt of the response to your request, and should be addressed to:
Information Management Unit
Sandwell Council House
Freeth Street
Oldbury
West Midlands
B69 3DE
Email –
If you are not content with the outcome of an internal review, you have the right to apply directly to the Information Commissioner for a decision. The Information Commissioner can be contacted at:
Information Commissioner's Office
Wycliffe House
Water Lane
Wilmslow
Cheshire SK9 5AF