School is hit by hate backlash after goose cull to protect pupils
A PRIMARY school has been targeted with hate mail after culling a flock of wild Canada geese on its grounds.
Fourteen birds were destroyed at Saxon Primary School in Shepperton, Surrey, due to the ‘significant’ health risk posed to pupils by excrement covering a field.
School leaders insist the cull, undertaken during the half-term break, was a ‘last resort’, but it has sparked widespread anger. A petition opposing the cull has attracted more than 25,000 signatures from across the world, and the school was forced to report threats of ‘significant harm’ to Surrey Police.
The cull involved the shooting of 14 birds and the use of a hawk to discourage other geese from visiting the site. Children are now able to play on the field.
Saxon is located between two reservoirs and had been attracting about 200 geese a day on its five-acre field. It had tried scaring the birds away using scarecrows, balloons and loud noises, but nothing worked. Children regularly trampled excrement into classrooms and some were left frightened after being chased by the geese.
Mary Ellen McCarthy, executive principal of the Lumen Learning Trust, which runs the school, said the decision to carry out a cull was ‘not taken lightly’. She added: ‘Because of the siting of the school, we are bordering two reservoirs and we have a very, very large field. The geese are very attracted to that field. ‘The scale of the problem is such that the entire field is covered in goose faecal matter, which means that it leaves our field virtually unusable.
‘Obviously, we’ve tried fencing and other things, but geese fly.
‘In order to try and mitigate the risk to our children we had to consider what we could do and we liaised with Natural England, Environmental Services and with Public Health because goose faecal matter is a health risk.’
Mrs McCarthy said the school had to show evidence that a cull was the ‘last resort’ to gain a licence. The health and welfare of pupils was ‘paramount’.
‘If we could have avoided it, we would have done,’ she said.
‘Nobody wants to kill an animal in terms of actually for the sake of it, but when it comes down to it, our children couldn’t go from one corner of the school to the other without getting covered in goose poo. Parents have been incredibly supportive of us in this furore, because their children are not coming home with it (excrement).’
But she said a Facebook group had encouraged followers to email the school with their opposition to the cull, with one person suggesting the school ‘cull the children’ instead.
Mrs McCarthy added: ‘Sadly, the nature of those communications has been extremely abusive and threatening, with foul language and mentioning individuals by name.
‘It’s just come to the point that staff have felt under threat. We’ve had to hand the whole thing over to Surrey Police.’
Mrs McCarthy said the school has received hundreds of threats, mainly by email, but also anonymous letters and telephone calls.
Communication has involved threats of ‘significant harm’ to the school and individuals. A petition to stop the ‘ cruel slaughter of geese’ at the school is still attracting signatories.
It reads: ‘ This sends a message to the children that when wild animals are inconvenient, the only or best solution is to kill them. Culling is also ineffective as more geese are likely to come to take their place so you will no doubt have a continuous cull and it’s clearly not a longterm solution.’
A spokesman for the RSPB said yesterday: ‘Culling should always be the last resort – with nearby lakes attractive to geese and playing fields for them to feed on, this issue is likely to continue in spite of the cull.
‘Looking at ways to make it harder for geese to move between the water and the grass is likely to be the best way to reduce the problem.
‘These include habitat management techniques such as planting, fencing and a variety of deterrents or distractions.’
‘Abusive and threatening’