So on May 7th several elected members in Sandwell will be appointed to serve their communities. An email has now been sent to all the current councillors who are standing for election again. In total 24 seats are to be contested, one per ward. Two current councillors will be standing down, or have not been reselected. Of the survivors there are 21 Labour councillors standing again, and one Conservative.
There are several other parties standing in different wards. A list of all the candidates in each ward can be viewed below.
Statement_of_Persons_Nominated___Local_Election_2015
As our campaign is a political one as well as one based on scrutiny , the following email has been sent to those who are standing as a councillor again.
THEIR OPINION IS SORT ON THE CULL OF GEESE. For some reason the original email appears to have been thrown back. I took this up with member services and spoke to someone called Mr Shahdaz, who stated that the emails could be forwarded to the councillor incumbents via him. Odd that, and not something that I quite understand given that I used the email contact addresses given on the members pages on the SMBC website. Most of these appear to be
first name_surname@Cllr.sandwell.org.uk.
Most of the officers appear to use first name_surname@sandwell.gov.uk. Anyway I have already had a reply off one of them for what it’s worth, so I’m not sure what type of weird gating is going on with councillors emails?
Dear Councillor,
You will be now familiar with Sandwell council’s decision to kill a reported 220 Canada geese in two of your green flag parks, Victoria park Tipton and Dartmouth park West Bromwich. We are a group opposed to this extreme and unnecessary action which has caused widespread criticism and condemnation from wildlife lovers and those families who visit the park to feed the birds and appreciate that these birds are not causing the exaggerated problems that one officer in particular has invented to justify the cull.
We have set out on our website the reasons why this cull is unjustified, and believe that people should be educated on goose behaviour to better understand them, this includes people who work for SMBC.
A recent joint meeting of the Health and Neighbourhoods scrutiny boards where our petition was presented received a poor consideration, with many facts revealed at this meeting which conflicted with the officer report claims.
In short
*No direct evidence of any health risks posed by Canada geese
*No direct evidence that Canada geese cause any health risks that cannot be attributed to other species of birds in the parks
* No direct evidence that anyone has ever slipped over on the reported faeces, which could be attributable to several species
*The fact that farm animals that Sandwell council appear to promote being handled at its own farms can cause greater health risks than Canada geese.
*Refutable evidence that Sandwell council carried out egg pricking prior to 2013- the year which it decided to start culling the birds.
It has also now come to light since this meeting after a stage two investigation that parks manager John Satchwell repeatedly lied to me concerning this cull claiming originally that they had been “relocated to the Sandwell Valley.” This would have been illegal and it was only through persistence and Freedom of Information requests that his lies and that of other officers that he appears to have dragged in to cover his tracks, was exposed.
This has brought the council into disrepute, and from a personal point of view I do not trust anyone who works for Sandwell council now. I would add to this that he has also admitted making threats to myself using his taxpayer funded mobile phone no doubt and has admitted this. Clearly I would ask what you make of this affair as elected and prospective candidates at the upcoming local elections?
Do you condone officers of the council telling lies, not for any other reason than trying to avoid “adverse publicity”.
Anyone who listens to the scrutiny meeting recording that I made can see that the council’s decision to cull the geese and not to launch an investigation into the circumstances does not stand up to scrutiny.
Over 1700 people signed our paper petition calling in an officer for scrutiny, with over 3000 the online petition. They have been totally ignored, but they now have a vote, and therefore your opinion on this matter is now being put in the spotlight. WHAT IS IT?
All responses received will be posted on our website. If you agree with Sandwell council’s cull then we will do everything possible to campaign against you and your party in these elections and also in the future. You will come under scrutiny like never before. So far only one councillor has signed our petition, Councillor Phillip Garrett. It would be nice to think that animal welfare was not a party political affair, but sadly I think it is here with this council.
If you don’t want to bother to reply then quite frankly, why are you even standing as an elected member if not to serve your own personal interests?
From a personal point of view, I will not be voting for a party that cannot be trusted to tell the truth and defends officers that lie and make threats.
As with the Coalition cull of badgers, there has been a marked increase in cruelty towards these birds which directly stems from Sandwell council’s cull and regard for them and public perceptions as worthless. Who do you think has to deal with this; not your staff but volunteers like myself who care.
This is not an “emotive” viewpoint but one based on available scientific evidence. YOUR OFFICERS HAVE NO SCIENTIFIC EVIDENCE TO SUPPORT THEIR BIASED DECISION. It is only their misguided opinion of protecting human health, (from no proven risk) , that guided this cull with their actions being “emotive” to protect their own selfish genes. People’s grandchildren were mentioned. They have nothing to fear from the geese, only people- as do the harmless, innocent geese.
Regards Ian Carroll Save our Sandwell Canada Geese
Picture of goose shot on one of Sandwell’s so called “nature reserves”.
AN INCIDENT OF GOOSE CRUELTY IN SANDWELL.
THE EMAIL ABOVE IS OPEN TO ALL THOSE CANDIDATES WHO ARE STANDING FOR THE POSITION OF COUNCILLOR IN SANDWELL IN THE 24 WARDS. WHAT ARE YOUR VIEWS ON SANDWELL COUNCIL’S CULL OF GEESE, AND THE MANNER IN WHICH SOME OF ITS OFFICERS HAVE BEHAVED IN THIS MATTER? IF YOU WOULD LIKE TO RESPOND PLEASE CONTACT US VIA OUR FACEBOOK PAGE.
