‘Lucy Goose’ has lived at the pond for years and even found love with another goose – but councillors decided to move her on
Residents of a sleepy village have been left ‘heartbroken’ after a pair of beloved geese were ‘evicted’ from a pond over ‘health and safety’ concerns. White goose ‘Lucy Goose’ has been sharing Townend Pond, located off the village High Street in Stillington, North Yorkshire, with local ducks for two years.
Recently, Lucy – who is owned by local resident 22-year-old Molly Dickman – even found love with a male Chinese goose brought to keep her company. But residents in the Domesday village have been left shocked after the birds were removed by a council earlier this month (October 22) over road safety concerns.
At a Stillington Parish Council meeting held on July 2, councillors decided that the paired geese would be offered back to their owners or re-homed at a different pond ‘in the interests of road safety’. At the time, a petition to keep the geese was signed by over 2000 people – more than the town’s population of 828 – yet the council did not give a reprieve.
An eviction letter sent to residents last week by the council said the birds “needed to go” as they would “stray onto the road” and “could cause an accident and injury to themselves or the public”.
They also said that the Parish Council are “responsible for the pond and surrounding area”, and they would be “liable” if there was an accident as these geese are “domestic birds not wild birds”.
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They also said they were placed on the pond “without permission” and informal discussions with the owners and a request to move the geese were “not successful” leading them to take action.
One villager said: “Councillors do the right thing and return them as you have acted so cruelly.
Another one said: “I drive that way every week and never had any issues on the road. Leave them alone!”
One other local said: “Release the geese!”
Lucy Goose’s owner Molly said the councils claims are “rubbish” and that the geese were causing “no harm”. She said: “I raised Lucy from a chick at my mum and dad’s farm.
“When her sibling died two years ago she became lonely and would wander over to the village pond. The locals loved her so we decided to leave her there, then another lady called Ruth brought over the Chinese goose and they bonded.
“They were both very happy in the pond. The community is upset as they were causing no harm – it sad that we had to get in a pickle about it when locals wanted them to stay.
“We are worried as we don’t know if they are safe, the council haven’t personally told me anything. They could at least tell us where they have taken them. The community is no trying to work with the council to get them back.”
A spokesperson for the council said: “The geese were placed on the pond without any agreement or permission from the Parish Council. “The decision was duly made at Council on 2nd July that the geese should be moved for safety reasons.
“Informal discussions with the owners and a request to move the geese were not successful. Legal threats both criminal and civil were received by the Council.
“Because of these threats the Council was advised to hold a meeting excluding press and public. Steps were then taken to formally write to the owners asking them to either move the geese to a new home or the Parish Council would find them a safer environment.
“No such undertaking to remove the geese was received from the owners and the Council has therefore moved the geese to a safe environment. If any other domestic birds are put on the pond they will be immediately removed.”