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Leeds Bradford Airport bosses vow to change Canada Geese cull EXCLUSIVE
UPROAR: Ruth Humphreys and local residents at Yeadon Tarn where a cull of Canada Geese has taken place.
Airport chiefs, who ordered a cull of geese at a Leeds beauty spot, have pledged to find other ways to control the population.
The meeting between Yeadon residents and Leeds Bradford Airport representatives at the airport came after local uproar resulting from the cull of 10 Canada Geese at Yeadon Tarn last year.
Food and Environment Research Agency officers shot the flock, which was deemed “a significant risk to aircraft”, in September by closing the green space to dog walkers in the early hours.
Plans for an £11million expansion of the airport, which could be completed by this summer, had sparked further fears of culls.
Carl Lapworth, the airport’s operations and engineering director attended the meeting.
Mr Lapworth said: “From time to time immediate and urgent action needs to be done to solve an immediate problem.”
He said he understood why people reacted so strongly but added that the cull was “the right thing in the interests of safety”.
The cull, which even resulted in residents putting RIP posters around the town, was done without consultation with local people.
Mr Lapworth said: “We have an airport consultant committee made up of various people in the locality of the airport and a regular forum engaging with local community needs.
“But we need to do more outreach and community engagement and we recognise that.”
Following a further meeting with FERA officials last week, Mr Lapworth said that further monitoring of local birds will mean they look to habitat control through activities such as egg picking in future instead.
Yeadon resident, Ruth Humphreys, 50, attended the meeting with two other Hawthorne Road and St Andrews Road Residents’ Group members last week.
She said: “If they extend the airport, safety is paramount, but they did say they would try to find other ways.
“I’m waiting to see if that’s the case or if they are just trying to shut us up.”
Ruth’s daughter Nicola Humphreys, 28, said: “I still don’t condone it but I understand why they did it.
“With Yeadon being very close knit they just assume the worst, so if there was more communication it wouldn’t be so bad.”
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Weather for Leeds
Thursday 24 May 2012
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Little Miss Loiner
Tuesday, February 7, 2012 at 07:54 PMJust remove some of the egss from the nests - no culling, just a form of birth control! Airplane safety must be first and foremost.
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