Sandwell leader speaks?

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The leader of the pack

 

 

“NO DECISION HAS  BEEN TAKEN ON FUTURE PLANS TO DEAL WITH GEESE NUMBERS.”

Sandwell Council leader Darren Cooper has so far not commented publicly on the decision to snuff out the lives of 220 geese in two of Sandwell’s parks. We now have a response, a reply to one of our active campaigners taking the time to TAKE ACTION in aid of the geese. The reply was no doubt written for him by the same officers who have drafted all the other press releases, and who continue to try to craft a woven tale of deceit to cover their tracks of both immorality and we believe criminality.

We will dissect the letter below, also making reference to other previous statements from this council which do not add up , but contradict statements made later.

 

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  • We now have a statement that an alleged count of Canada geese was undertaken in 2013. The first question to this is why? We do not get an idea why this was undertaken, yet the premiss for it appears that someone within the council wanted to prove that there was “an increase in numbers ” in the formal parks in Sandwell. It should be remembered that in his letter of  17/11/14 , in response to a letter and FOI request, Streetscene Director and Satchwell defender  Steve Handley pointed out that egg pricking had been undertaken ( which we know it had not) over several years.
  • The question is if it had been undertaken, then where were the increasing numbers identified to be coming from, if we are to believe Darren Cooper’s statement in this letter? WE DO NOT BELIEVE THAT ANY COUNT WAS UNDERTAKEN IN 2013. WHO UNDERTOOK THIS, WHY WAS PAUL SMITH, NATURE CONSERVATION OFFICER FOR SANDWELL NOT INVOLVED, WHOM HAS STATED THAT HE WAS NOT INVOLVED IN PRODUCING ANY REPORT ABOUT CULLING FOR SANDWELL COUNCIL, NOR ONE PASSING HIM FOR COMMENT?
  • The figure of 1000 geese was made in the Council’s official statement under Maria Crompton’s name, and published on their facebook page on 27th August 2014, where she stated “With more than 1,000 geese grazing in our parks ….”

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This is in contrast to the statement made in John Satchwell’s culling proposals of 700, supposedly written in April 2013. The council claim to have culled 220 geese in total, reported in several sources in the media and in written letters. Of these they claim that “only” 70 geese from Victoria Park Tipton were killed in 2014, (but none in Dartmouth park), therefore meaning by simple arithmetic that they claim that 150 must have been killed in both parks in 2013.

We know from our observations that a total of up to 50 geese were observed taken and put into a box from Victoria park Tipton recorded on video with the liars at Sandwell council and Pestex claiming that they were being “relocated to the Sandwell Valley”, but crucially not to be killed. This means that the other 100, must have been struck from Dartmouth park in 2013.

THERE IS SOMETHING DEEPLY SUSPICIOUS ABOUT THESE ROUND NUMBERS BEING CITED. WE KNOW THEY LIKE BINGO AT SANDWELL COUNCIL, BUT THIS APPEARS TO BE MORE LIKE TOMBOLA, WITH NUMBERS APPEARING TO END WITH A ZERO.

  • The third paragraph contradicts itself, as Steve Hadley’s previous statements had regarding alternative methods to culling. “Egg pricking has been an ongoing operation for many years……”

We know egg pricking has not been undertaken to the level that they claim. Furthermore in her August council statement Maria Crompton states “With 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.

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HOW HAD THE NUMBERS AT THESE PARKS GOT “OUT OF CONTROL” IF THE EGGS WERE BEING PRICKED AT THESE SITES? DUR.

  • The claim that 300 geese were residing in the two parks in 2013 are total fabrication. It does not state as to when this count was supposed to have been made, the time of day, the time of year, and that birds may be present in larger periods during the moult period, but would then disperse.  THERE WAS NO COUNT AT ALL- IF THERE WAS THEN WHY WAS IT NOT INCLUDED IN SATCHWELL’S ORIGINAL   REPORT? We will no doubt after this publication of this post have the same not so clever individuals at the council reconstruct all of this to further cover their odious lies.
  • We know that the so called “complaints” were not numerous at all, from the earlier FOI request- just 8 in 5 years, no doubt repeat complaints for people to whom this appears to be a big issue, yet this just repeats Crompton’s lies in her official council statement which read

“We receive numerous complaints from families with young children complaining about the mess they leave and their aggressive behaviour during the breeding season.”

  • The claims about the geese preventing other wildfowl from rearing their young is  utter falsity, and what evidence can Cooper and his team of berks cite that this was the case? I’ve been watching wildfowl at these sites for over 18 years now, and at other sites across Sandwell and multiple boroughs. This gives me an insight into what is going on with wildfowl, and I challenge anyone to produce the same level of records that I can about individual swans and breeding success in the Sandwell area over that time.

Sandwell council drained the lake in Dartmouth park two years running, co-inciding with the birds nesting at the site. If geese were “behaving aggressively” then perhaps it was in response to someone taking or breaking their eggs and disturbing their nests. In addition, some nesting coots abandoned their land marooned nests in the centre of the drained waterbody. Some caring council that, but now they appear to be posing as wildfowl advocates.

 

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  • We do not get an idea as to which serial liar has fed all of this into the “political decision”, but we strongly believe the names “John Satchwell” x2 were involved. We should also state that we as swanwatch have never made any complaint about goose numbers, nor the effect on swans at these two pools, or any other in Sandwell.

We have made repeated complaints about the management of angling at Sandwell, and the negative effects that it has had on wildfowl, including geese raising their young. It should be stated that Darren Cooper is an angler, and so therefore is not remotely interested in wildfowl concerns but that of the selfish self centred banksitter throwing foodstuff crap into the lake all day, and going home at the end of it with little to show but a spray of litter left behind them- and hooked birds.

In 2013, 3 cygnets were hatched on Victoria park Tipton. The female of the previous year was taken into a rescue centre and put to sleep because of a torn throat at the hands of an angler with a hook, who had obviously tried to retrieve it. Because of lack of natural food in the pool and the previously pesticide nuked islands that we believe someone in the Satchwell clan to be responsible for, (and not to do with the geese that feed on the grass), one of these perished in late Winter. Another died as a result of having its throat ripped by an angler again with food bursting out of a torn oesophagus and was put to sleep at a rescue centre. The final one survived but disappeared in suspicious circumstances.

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  •  We would remind people that Pestex lied to members of the public concerning what they were doing, and also tried to attempt to get myself to do their job for them. One of their operatives also spat on the grass, recorded on video. Then there is the question of the trailer used and the still we believe illegal release of geese at Forge Mill Lake. “Reputable company” Really?
  • No licence has to be obtained from Natural England- and this just shows the complete lack of understanding of this issue. The council have failed to show that the general licence that they now cite, after going to Natural England for an escape route  was justified by an issue in these two parks. They cannot get their figures right on the number of birds in the parks, and the complaints they cited are non existent.
  • The word “relocation” is chillingly reused here and should not go unnoticed. A stage two complaint is now live against the council and its lying officers. This word is I believe an attempt to suggest that they told me that they were being “relocated” to be killed. Well that was not what they said, and they will be stating that at their own perils if they do.
  • Sandwell council have already confirmed that no officers of theirs, nor any independent animal welfare organisation saw what Pestex did when putting out the birds’ lights , on a farm where this shambles of a company were apparently let loose amongst the chicken pens.
  • Timing- I know the timeline of events- we have explored that and the discrepancy of the time that the birds were rounded up at tipton, and the time that they were released according to Senior Countryside ranger Matt Darby. For how long were they contained- or does this confirm that this officer is just another liar, as well as Pestex and Satchwell?
  • 27 geese were present after they had been taken at Victoria park Tipton. They were counted on the day the others were seen missing, whereby I had the previous week counted that 97 were present- moulting transient birds, and not resident at this park. More birds have now appeared at the site, but the upshot of this cull is that birds at Sheepwash Nature reserve are now very scarce- meaning that these fools merely killed off birds from a nature reserve site. But that’s the trouble with imbecile trumped up gardeners like Satchwell- they know nothing at all.

WHAT DOES THIS MEAN FOR SANDWELL COUNCIL?

From our communications with Sandwell council’s Democratic services, I have learned that the council has never had a petition presented to its scrutiny committee asking for an officer to give evidence under scrutiny. This in itself shows just how little democracy there is in this rotten borough where one party dominate without any opposition to hold them to account. It is also the case that 1500 signatures are needed for this process in the council’s 2014-15 petition scheme. For some reason, this was increased, (but by whom) from 1000 the year before. Are Sandwell Labour so afraid of members of the public questioning their usually Labour party member officers- like for example John  Satchwell?

OUR PETITION WILL THEREFORE WHATEVER ITS COURSE SET A NEW ONE, UNLESS THEY TRY TO SCUPPER IT SOMEHOW BY CHANGING THEIR RULES- WHICH OF COURSE WILL BE MALADMINISTRATION AND A COMPLAINT TO THE OMBUDSMAN.

Darren Cooper and co may think that this is a non issue, and that animal welfare cranks will go away, they may even laugh it all off and think it is a joke, but he does that at his own peril, because he should know that we will not go away.

He should also not underestimate my abilities at debate especially at a subject I know about, and as Crompton’s embarrassing gaff laden live radio interview revealed,  none of the 70 they could put up are in the same class. All council run meetings can now be recorded, and this one will be by us.

Of Darren Cooper I have read quite a bit about him and his social media habits, and I reserve judgement about the man and what he is about by not prejudging, but for some reason he has not as yet chosen to comment once about the cull of geese. He has however intervened in some council decisions offering an apparent all powerful olive branch veto- the Sandwell valley car park charge for example.

“I may be seen as a hard-nosed politician but I am a mental nurse by profession and I am a sensitive individual.”

Darren Cooper as quoted in the Birmingham Mail in response to people making complaints about his closure of the Public building in West Bromwich. As he has stated  that  no decision  has been made, we continue to urge people  to inform  his decision by making it known  that you are against the cull of geese in Sandwell.

 

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Justice for the 220, We’re looking to you Sandwell Leader.

 

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