Agenda item

Motion by Councillor Parker – Urban Wildlife Management

“1)       Notes that under the Prevention of Damage by Pests Act (1949) and Environmental Protection Act (1990), local authorities have a statutory obligation to manage “pests” on their own land and buildings, including rats, mice, and insects.

2)         Recognises that in order to meet these statutory obligations, appropriate wildlife management is required, and that this is important for public health and safety.

3)         Also recognises that there can be a diversity of opinion about what constitutes appropriate wildlife management and for what species, and that some practices can have a significant negative impact on ecosystems, exacerbating the effects of the climate and nature emergencies.

4)         Notes that wildlife management is important for a large number of council departments, services and workstreams including waste, facilities management, environmental protection, parks / greenspace and biodiversity, amongst others, and that a joined-up approach to wildlife management is therefore important, especially in the context of the Nature Emergency which the Council declared in February 2023

5)         Further notes with concern the large-scale avian flu outbreak and the threat this poses to bird populations including urban gulls, as well as mammals such as otters and foxes who can contract the virus too 

6)         Therefore, requests a report to Transport and Environment Committee in 3 cycles which should outline:

a)         Current council practices in relation to wildlife management, including a list of species the Council actively manages in the interests of public health and safety, as well as a list of those it does not but which other, private “pest” control firms may well do so.

b)         Details about how the Council adopts an integrated wildlife management approach in this work, including information about how this is managed cross-service / departmentally, also noting how consideration of the impact of wildlife management on biodiversity is considered, and ideas about how all of this could be strengthened.

c)         Information about how the Council approach aligns with the 7 principles of ethical wildlife management, CRRU code and other relevant standards.

d)         Information about how the Council is adapting its approach to urban gull management to reflect the severity of the avian flu outbreak.”