SALFORD RHS BRIDGEWATER GARDEN AUTHORITIES ADMIT TO SHOOTING DEER - Salford Star

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SALFORD RHS BRIDGEWATER GARDEN AUTHORITIES ADMIT TO SHOOTING DEER

Star date: 27th November 2020

DEER HAVE BEEN SHOT AT RHS SALFORD GARDEN

"We take our custodianship of the RHS Garden Bridgewater site and its existing wildlife very seriously..." RHS

What is described by RHS Garden Bridgewater as a "small group" of Roe deer have been shot at the site which is due to open to the public next May.

After residents kicked up fury on social media today, tonight a statement has been issued on the Garden's Facebook site: "We were really sorry to have to make this difficult decision, but we understand that proactive herd management, including humane culling by rifle, is essential to maintain healthy herd sizes." It added that it had to "limit the significant potential damage to plants, shrubs and trees".

Full details here...

click image to enlarge

Rumours were circulating on social media all day that deer were being shot at the new RHS Bridgewater Garden site in Worsley, in which Salford City Council has invested £19million.*

Tonight, a statement was posted on the Garden's Facebook site admitting the 'humane cull' and explaining why it happened...to control a "small group" of deer that had strayed beyond the deer enclosure that couldn't be caught because of COVID-19 restrictions. And to "limit the significant potential damage to plants, shrubs and trees"...

The full statement reads...

"Many thanks to everyone who got in touch with us today about the management of roe deer on the RHS Bridgewater site.

RHS Garden Bridgewater worked with wildlife experts to assess the impact of the local roe deer population. To limit the significant potential damage to plants, shrubs and trees, a secure deer-proof fence has been installed around the perimeter of the garden and an internal fence has been erected to create a large deer enclosure in the North East quadrant of the site.

A small population of deer remain within the deer enclosure and there is a plan to safely relocate them at a future date to another location. However, a very small number of deer have occupied the space outside the deer enclosure and due to the current COVID-19 restrictions it was not possible to herd, net and relocate them due to the large number of people required for such an exercise. Professional advice was sought and sadly humane culling was the only viable option to control this small group. This was completed in as humane a way as possible by a fully accredited veterinary surgeon and consultant in the health, welfare and management of deer, licenced through Natural England, during the statutory open season for roe deer.

We were really sorry to have to make this difficult decision, but we understand that proactive herd management, including humane culling by rifle, is essential to maintain healthy herd sizes. Roe deer are not a protected species and without any natural predators their population has dramatically increased in recent years; reaching levels where they seriously threaten the habitats other species depend on, causing damage to the health and resilience of gardens and woodlands and placing additional pressure on the health of existing herds.

We'd like to reassure you that we take our custodianship of the RHS Garden Bridgewater site and its existing wildlife very seriously. On taking ownership of the site, independent ecological consultants were brought in to survey all major protected wildlife groups, including birds, mammals and amphibians, and to create a biodiversity management strategy.

The RHS has been working to this strategy ever since, both to safeguard existing wildlife and to enhance biodiversity across the site. Our 7 designated habitat types (orchard, ponds, arable field margins, hedgerows, lowland meadows, lowland deciduous woodland and some elements of the extremely scarce wet woodland) are being actively managed and huge changes in diversity and abundance of plants, insects, birds, amphibians and small mammals will become evident over the coming years."

There's now a petition to Stop the RHS Bridgewater from further culling of roe deer at their site - click here to sign it

Update: 28th November:

The Salford Conservatives have now issued a statement about the cull...

"Following complaints by local residents that deer were being killed by the RHS, local Councillor Darren Ward visited the gardens and spoke to the General Manager Richard Green, who confirmed that culling of Roe Deer had taken place by shooting. This shooting was carried out even though he had previously confirmed in discussions in 2018 that the deer were being relocated.

At no time were local Councillors advised of the shooting. Had they been told they would have used all their influence to prevent it from happening.

Councillor Karen Garrido said she was "appalled that these deer were killed purely to prevent them damaging plants, trees and shrubs...surely there must be a better way of managing these prestigious gardens?"

Councillor Les Turner said that "If the RHS wish to have a genuine good relationship with our communities they need to demonstrate it and killing deer is not the way to do this".

Councillor Bob Clarke said he was "astonished that our local wildlife was being decimated by a supposedly prestigious charity who have the patronage of HM The Queen who I am sure would be devastated to hear this news".

Councillor Jillian Collinson called it "a disgrace". And Councillor Darren Ward, who has spent a considerable amount of time ascertaining what had happened and complaining vehemently to the RHS added that this was "a totally inhumane action".

Councillor Robin Garrido is urging everyone to sign the online petition which will then be submitted to Salford Council. He went on to say that at the first opportunity he, together with his colleagues would be raising this matter with the Council to ascertain what action can be taken and how the deer and other wildlife can be better protected in the future."

Update: 29th November

Now the Salford City Mayor and Salford Wildlife Champion, Lewis Nelson have issued a statement...

"It has come to our attention that RHS Bridgewater have undertaken a cull of roe deer population which had taken residence outside of the deer enclosure. This news has caused understandable distress amongst the general public – and we will be contacting RHS Bridgewater as soon as possible to clarify the situation.

"RHS Bridgewater have previously committed to safeguarding the Roe Deer population in and around their site, with physical barriers to protect the flora and fauna within the gardens, and when absolutely necessary by relocation. In this instance, COVID-19 restrictions have been cited as their reason for not pursuing relocation - we will be investigating this reason with RHS Bridgewater as soon as possible.

"In Salford, we see wildlife as our neighbours. We see it as our shared duty to coexist with our wildlife, and we are proud to have such diverse and breathtaking creatures in all corners of Salford. From the recently spotted otter in the Irwell, to birds of prey in Broughton, to the roe deer that can be seen in their majestic and shy beauty in Worsley. This council has poured huge amounts of investment into our green spaces and green infrastructure over the past few years – and bringing wildlife back to our once industrial city has been no small part of our objective.

"The RHS Gardens have the potential to hugely increase the biodiversity in this city – but the existing populations of wildlife must always be respected."

Update 29th November: Tories call for meeting of Council, councillors and RHS.

The following letter has been sent by the Conservatives to Salford Council Chief Exec Jim Taylor...

"We (the local Councillors) request that you convene an urgent meeting, ideally on Monday, to ascertain exactly what actions were taken by the RHS, why these deer had to be culled and why neither the local Councillors or indeed the Council were consulted before it happened. This meeting should include yourself, the RHS manager for the above gardens Richard Green and veterinary experts.

"The RHS are clearly here to stay and bridges have to be built both with the local community and the Council as soon as possible. The RHS has to recognize that as a national charity they cannot just please themselves what they do. They can only survive in the longer term with the support of Salford residents who via the Council have contributed millions of pounds to enable the RHS to become a reality.

"It is disappointing that an organization such as the RHS did not recognize the importance of communication and their responsibility to the community.

"We look forward to hearing from you at your earliest opportunity to arrange this meeting. I can confirm that we will all make ourselves available for such meeting tomorrow.

Best wishes,

Councillor Karen Garrido
Councillor Les Turner
Councillor Robin Garrido
Councillor Darren Ward
Councillor Bob Clarke
Councillor Jillian Collinson"

* For a full background see previous Salford Star articles on RHS Bridgewater – click here and click here

Main image by Jamie Reid for the Sex Pistols

Frederic Morgan wrote
at 14:30:38 on 23 April 2021

Could not believe it when I heard the RHS was coming to Salford. I had been, 1952,on an ex-service men`s 12 month course at their Wisley Gardens in Surry What an eye opener. If we can equal Wisley people will be visiting from all over the world.

Jon Owen wrote
at 12:37:57 on 04 December 2020

Shameful disgrace will not now be visiting the site.

Felsey wrote
at 19:46:15 on 01 December 2020

I am shocked to hear about this disgraceful shooting. It is not acceptable. Salford people demand animal protection to be a part of Salford Council responsibility. I would never allow such a horror that kills animals to be allowed on my watch never ever.

wrote
at 14:54:32 on 01 December 2020

The population of Salford are up in arms, as are the Councillors and Mayor, so much so that the Conservatives are calling for an emergency meeting to discuss the shootings (band waggon jumping at it's finest). Where are all these angry people and politicians when the council sell off land to developers on the cheap and flog housing stock? Where are they when they piss our money up the wall on projects like RHS Bridgewater? Where are they when they wrap tower blocks in combustible cladding? You can sell out our areas to developers and gentrify it, you can wrap our tower blocks in flammable cladding, you can even waste our money on yourselves. But NEVER shoot a dear! Get your priorities straight you fucking idiots!

wrote
at 14:41:03 on 01 December 2020

@ Sam: I've never seen deer in Salford myself, I've only heard of it around the edges, that's what I was talking about. The reality is numbers will have to be maintained. Unless you want to reintroduce Wolves, bears and cougars to do the job?

The Sam Fan Club wrote
at 09:50:42 on 01 December 2020

A message to all the deer shooting apologists --- the wildlife and ecology of most parts of Salford has been compromised for over 200 years because of industry. Its only in recent years that we have deer return in numbers to our Borough -- can you please tell Star readers where deer are causing damage to habitats in Salford ? we would all be glad for you to share your superior knowledge. It is not a valid comparison to make -- Salford deer numbers to deer numbers in leafy cheshire, national trust estates or the rolling cotswolds. We are Salford, and we love all the new wildlife that is making Salford its home. NO MORE SHOOTING. What next -- lets kill all those pesky kingfishers on the Irwell that are eating all our minnows !!!

wrote
at 20:52:49 on 30 November 2020

The deer are at their most numerous for 1000 years.The Deer also have no natural predators, because of us, so as sad as it is their numbers need controlling. If left to their own devices they will breed out of control, strip the local area of vegetation (including crops) and eventually have an impact on local wildlife and their environments. At that point farmers will start shooting them anyway. I love animals as much as everyone else here but the UK deer population is at 2 million and cost £4.5M a year in damage to plantations and commercial forests. They also have damaged 8000 hectares of woodland, sites of special scientific, and this is said to only be a fraction of the damage. Forested areas where large amounts of deer are have made the woodland bird populations drop by 50%. Lastly deer cost farmers £4.3M a year through damage. To leave them be would be would cause more problems.

Arnold Rimmer wrote
at 14:19:44 on 30 November 2020

@rossi If I had to choose, I'd say I'd taste of minke whale as they also taste amazing (medium rare). Clearly nobody on here has seen the damage deer do. Entire woodlands would be wastelands and wildlife destroyed if we left them to it. Deer culling happens in all large woodlands with deer and the only bad show from RHS was that they sound like they agreed to alternatives and then didn't follow through. Animal control is necessary and, in fact, a legal requirement. If you owned land with rabbits on it, just see how long it would take to get a fine or a bill from a farmer with injured livestock from falling in rabbit holes. The law, states "all occupiers of land have a continuing obligation to kill or take any wild rabbits living on it." The reason it's needed is that we've killed all the natural deer predators such as wolves so we could reintroduce those... but then some of the "save our deer" brigade would get upset when their child gets torn limb from limb on their weekend walks.

ROSSI wrote
at 08:31:23 on 30 November 2020

I wonder if your meat is very good Arnold? Maybe during the coming apocalypse somrone will shoot you and we'll get to find out.

c. clare wrote
at 01:40:23 on 30 November 2020

How utterly contemptible are the RHS? These vile, horrible killers are nothing more than killers, and they should be prosecuted as such. The council, giving millions of tax payers money to this disgusting organisation are equally as responsible, as they should have done checks and more checks on these criminals. The council and RHS are desecrating the land that belongs, and has belonged to deer, rabbits and other animals for centuries. Why, for once can they not just let nature be? Why do they have to destroy everything? This is not even beginning to address the damage done to the eco-system and environment. Hang your heads in shame you murdering bastards.

Roy Dennett wrote
at 23:51:44 on 29 November 2020

Absolutely disgraceful! Shame on you. There is NO excuse for this.

white wrote
at 20:56:19 on 29 November 2020

Just whose deer are they. The RHS? Very doubtful. These deer raom the whole area and not just the RHS site, just as they roam in other areas such as the Irwell Valley.

Arnold Rimmer wrote
at 11:57:00 on 29 November 2020

Of they could have been saved, they should have but let's not pretend this is some unique thing the rhs has decided to do. Dunham massey shoot their deer all the time. The meat is for sale in the fridges at the park. It's very good. Many national trust places sell their own venison.

Margaret Smethurst wrote
at 00:17:34 on 29 November 2020

So Cruel the RHS deserve to be boycotted, live & let live

Ken Barry wrote
at 18:15:00 on 28 November 2020

Was looking forward to seeing Rudolph red nose this year shame :(( they should be putting up better fencing

Susan Whitworth wrote
at 14:59:51 on 28 November 2020

SHAME, SHAME, SHAME ON YOU RHS. You are no better than poachers, fox hunters and any other Sub-Humans that want to kill or hurt our wildlife! As if there isn't enough misery around at the moment, you go and pile this onto decent people who's limited pleasures will probably involve going for a nice walk and appreciating nature. I will from now on refer to RHS as the 'REALLY HORRIBLE SOCIETY'!!!

ROSSI wrote
at 13:58:07 on 28 November 2020

Life is Loud, Not me Friendo, I've been a vegetarian for eight years. Ever since i visited someone that I know at his allotment and he showed me his chickens. They were beautiful looking birds, different species, some of them very exotic looking. They also looked happy. That was when I gave up eating meat, and I've never looked back.

Slurp wrote
at 12:54:39 on 28 November 2020

Public relations disaster methinks. Someone's judgement is so poor they shouldn't be in position to make a call like that again. There are cretins in the Salford area still like to have a pop at the wildlife with their airguns (and worse) . The RHS should be better than this. And then there's the cretins firing at people. The RHS might think the Star is being very selective in it's investigative journalism. There's a turf war going on in the area but you wouldn't know it if this was your only source of local information.

Life is loud wrote
at 12:19:24 on 28 November 2020

So is it ok to kill farm aninals then all these people profess to be animal lovers but bet they all eat dead animal meat

fletcher wrote
at 11:40:58 on 28 November 2020

Let's not forget that it's Our Garden, thanks to the millions put into it by our council. As it's Our Garden, we can all visit it free. But only for the first year! And only on Tuesdays! Wowee!

white wrote
at 08:53:47 on 28 November 2020

Paul Kelly There are still lots of deer in the Irwell Valley, from the Agecroft end all the way to Ringley and beyond. They roam free. I frequently see them on dog walks. There are some in other places which I don't mention knowing the antics that some idiots would get up to if they knew. Now of course, the RHS can be added to the idiot list.

Mike Duddy wrote
at 08:48:09 on 28 November 2020

Well done Sam -- the RHS have just been lazy and cruel. No reason at all to cull our wildlife. Many thanks for starting this petition. Lets hope this sets down a marker for the future and the RHS corporation realise that Salfordians love ALL wildlife equally

Milk float wrote
at 08:35:25 on 28 November 2020

Where is Salfords Mayors Wildlife champion councillor Lewis Nelson , we await your view on this

Sam wrote
at 02:29:05 on 28 November 2020

Thank you for making more people aware! I started the petition to ensure RHS Garden Bridgewater's actions (culling of roe deer who had returned to their site, as generations before them had roamed the land for over a century) would not be allowed to go unnoticed and in 4 hours it received over 1000 signatures from like minded people who do NOT want to see any future deer, who may get access to the land, meet the same fate. The RHS stated that because of covid, they could not safely move the deer on to another location (as they claimed to have done with those who were on the land last Summer) and therefore the only solution was to cull them. They had previously denied that the increasing number of deer being found in the Bridgewater canal was in no way related to their building work (they destroyed over half of their habitat, the woodlands at the back of the site), but thanks to pressure from Salford Greenspace, Salford Wildlife and a few of our local councillors, they did admit to the cullings, which had been rumoured to be happening. From tweets by members of those group and other residents in Boothstown, tagging various media outlets and wildlife organisations, the petition and cause is continuing to grow - and thanks to one lady, there will now be an article about the actions of the RHS in Manchester Evening News tomorrow. We need to be the voice for our wildlife and can NOT allow to let the RHS think they are above being questioned for their actions!

paul kelly wrote
at 23:41:12 on 27 November 2020

A cruel vicious and wicked action using the cover of Covid to smoke screen pure murder if it was possible to shoot lead in to the bodies of these defenceless animals why did they not use tranquilisers and relocate them i hope the rat who killed them is proud of it nothing more than blood sport.A couple of months ago i was sat on a bench on the Livia in Clifton near Lumnbs lane when a red deer and 2 little deers walked within 10 yards of where i sat it was a lovely sight and they were roaming free nature at its best they were not enclosed or locked up let the deer run free. i remember after coming up from the pit at Agecroft after a night shift in the summer time watching these lovely creatures on the way home walking along the canal i could nearly touch some of them they were very trusting very painful to read this story RHS desist in your murder of innocent animals.

Neil Howard wrote
at 21:56:10 on 27 November 2020

Boycott, peaceful protest, human blockade, do you you can to ruin their greedy investment.

ROSSI wrote
at 21:08:12 on 27 November 2020

The RHS is like the Anglican Church, it is for and full of middle class types who prior to Covid would have been slurping overpriced coffees in Starbucks or Cafe Nero. I don't know how people can get excited by the prospect of visiting somewhere like this. I would rather watch a Craig Fairbrass film on my dvd player, preferably "early" Fairbrass as in "Darklands". With regard the deer, these bastards didn't need to kill them, there are animal sanctuaries all over the country that would have taken them in, if they couldn't be re-located somewhere else. But I suppose that now that the truth has come out, the weasely PR people will be trotting out the usual bollocks about how it was done as a last resort and they tried every other thing before realising that this was the "only" way. Wankers!

The Truth Hurts wrote
at 18:45:00 on 27 November 2020

The RHS are just another manifestation of big business. A corporate site the grows flowers and entertains the masses for a price. (probably extortionate)

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