No plans to cull Gloucester's cattle, city council says
Summary
There are no plans to cull the herd of cows which graze on Robinswood Hill and Alney Island, according to Gloucester City Council . Concerns had been raised over the future of the cattle as the authority is planning to offload both nature sites to Gloucestershire Wildlife Trust. City leaders are looking at potentially selling or offloading some of their 270 properties.
Details
And the two nature reserves could be offloaded as part of its financial recovery plan. Concerns had been raised that cattle could be culled as part of the plan. But this has been dismissed as a “false rumour” by the council.
Conservative group leader Stephanie Chambers (Quedgeley Fieldcourt) said she received an email from a concerned stakeholder raising this issue and she was seeking clarity on the situation. She said she had not been provided with any information confirming that a cull is being proposed. “I understand that any decision is currently on hold while further information is being gathered,” she said.
“What I want to be absolutely clear about is this: I, and the Conservative group, would strongly oppose any culling of the cattle for financial reasons or as a cost-saving exercise for this council. “That would be wholly unacceptable. The cattle play an important role in conservation grazing and Robinswood Hill is a much-loved public green space.
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“A cull could only ever be justified in the most exceptional circumstances, where there was a serious and evidenced animal health risk and no viable alternative, not as part of budget pressures or short-term savings.” Liberal Democrat Councillor Sebastian Field (Podsmead), who holds the cabinet portfolio for the environment, said the rumour cattle would be culled is false.
Cllr Field said: “There is no plan to cull the herd of cattle on Robinswood Hill. This rumour is false.
“These heritage cattle are part of the wider ecosystem management on the hill and while all our estate plans are being reviewed within our financial planning, rest assured that this is not in the plans.” The council was asked if this applied to the cattle on Alney Island and whether none of the dozens of cows belonging to the council will be culled or disposed of over the next 12 months.
A spokesperson said Cllr Field’s statement applies to all cattle the council owns.