A deer looking for food in Richmond Park. Picture credit: hashan - CC0
A petition started on activist website Care2 against animal culling in The Royal Parks has reached more than 120.000 signatures in two months.
Launched by Natalia Doran of Urban Squirrels last December, the petition is aiming at reaching 130.000 signatures in an attempt of stopping the culling practice in London Royal Parks. It encourages the introduction of non-lethal methods for control of the animal population instead.
“The numbers are astonishingly high and it’s absolutely not about the old, the sick and the injured” Mrs Doran told Fauna, “It is about culling them in huge numbers”.
Among those who have signed the petitions, some comments express anger and distress: “Shocked to learn that animals are killed this way and strongly disagree that anyone can claim ownership of animals, who are sentient beings, to give them the right to kill them”, says one user.
“Disgraceful these are living beings that belong more to their environment than the buggers hired for some trigger happy income, stop this overreaction to beautiful nature royal or not”, says another.
The Royal Parks claim the culls are necessary to prevent overpopulation. However, the petition counters this argument.
“The justification for the culls is not evidence-based. Non-lethal methods of population control are mentioned in policy statements, but not applied. Hundreds of animals thus lose their lives for no clear reason.”
Non-lethal methods of population control – contraceptives for example – are already utilised in some parts of the world. The GonaCon, in particular, has been used on the White-tailed deer in the US and on many ungulates in North America and in the EU, on the Western Grey squirrel and on some other mammals, including the cat.
“The vaccine does not bring any intrinsic risks or harmful effects for the animal,” says Dr Francesco Cerami of the Veterinary Centre Kunesias in Palermo.
“However,” he says, “there are several variants to consider when administrating the vaccine. The species on which is used, the chemical composition and dose, and the overall health condition of the animal are some of them.”
The culls take place in November and in February in Hyde Park and Kensington Gardens, St James's Park, The Green Park, Regent's Park and Primrose Hill, Greenwich Park, Richmond Park and Bushy Park. During these times, the parks are closed to visitors overnight for up to six weeks.
If you want to contribute to the petition or find more about it, you can find it here.
Alessandro Mascellino