Geese evicted from village pond

Two geese will be evicted from a pond following a row that has ruffled feathers in a village.

Dozens of residents attended a meeting at Stillington village hall near Yorkto discuss the future of the birds who roam free around the water.

The council had already made the decision to evict the white and Chinese geese – who both have owners – after concerns were raised about them causing road accidents.

However, a petition, called Save Stillington Geese, claimed the council had acted to remove the birds without consulting the villagers.

The campaign said: “The white goose lived here peacefully for at least two years, sharing the pond with both duck families and moorhens.

“It was a sad time when she initially lost her gander but she is quite happily settled with a new man, the Chinese goose, and they are a bonded pair.

“They recently laid a clutch of eggs but these were unexpectedly removed. Please don’t let our geese be removed too.”

Despite more than 2,000 people signing the petition, the council refused to renege on their decision, arguing it was in the best interests of the birds to be rehomed.

Stillington, which is home to around 800 people, has seven members on its parish council which is elected every four years.

According to the BBC, council chairman Richard Smyth said: “One of them [the geese] was getting out and threatening all sorts of incidents and possible accidents on a very busy road, which the pond is adjacent to.”

Mr Smyth reportedly said the Chinese goose was “dancing in the road”, suggesting it was “an accident waiting to happen”.

Yet villagers remain unhappy at the decision made by the council. Ruth Gaunt, owner of the Chinese goose, said: “I’m just absolutely disgusted, absolutely raging.

“[The numbers at the meeting] just showed what compassion and what love there was for our pond.”

The white goose was hand-reared by Molly Dickman in her garden across the road from the water.

Eventually, the bird began visiting the pond before eventually settling there.

Those present at the meeting argued the community appreciated the birds and asked for signs to be erected to warn drivers about them, rather than evicting them.

The parish council rejected this as a solution.

On the petition website, one signatory said: “The Stillington geese are part of this village, residents take their children to see them and having wildlife in a village brings happiness to people and relieves stress.

“The geese have a right to be here, it’s not too much to ask for them to be left alone in their space.”

[Source: Daily Telegraph]