Latest news with #CommonersDefenceAssociation
BBC News
a day ago
- General
- BBC News
New Forest wheelie bins rollout monitored over donkey concerns
The rollout of new wheelie bins and food waste caddies in the New Forest is to be monitored following reports of ponies and donkeys breaking into Forest District Council started its first phase to rollout the bins in April to residents of Brockenhurst, New Milton, Lymington and the surrounding council said it had seen cases of donkeys in the national park "interacting with waste containers" and that it would monitor the "emerging issue".Last month, livestock-owners raised concerns about animals seeing the bins as a "potential food source", which could damage their health. New Forest District Council was among the last local authorities not to use wheelie wheelie bins and caddies are replacing single-use black and clear plastic bags for residents' domestic and food waste, plus area's free-roaming ponies, pigs, donkeys and cattle are owned by commoners - people who own or occupy land with ancient rights last month's meeting of the Verderers Court which administers commoners' rights, Commoners Defence Association (CDA) chairman Andrew Parry-Norton called on the council to change its advice to residents to ensure bins were kept away from areas where livestock roam."Not only could the bins be a problem for pigs, but also donkeys and ponies who will quickly realise this could become a potential food source," he told the court. In a statement, the council said: "We have this morning seen a handful of examples of donkeys interacting with waste containers, across a collection area covering around 1,650 properties. "We are listening to our residents, and while we continue to monitor the situation, we have been working on ways to address this emerging issue."Reported incidents remained "very minimal," it also said it had already had a "helpful discussion" with the CDA and would be reviewing its findings with other bodies including Forestry England in a bid to reduce the chance of animals accessing food waste. The move to wheelie bins was given the go-ahead in 2022 with the council insisting they were needed to increase recycling rates, while opponents argued they were unsightly and costly. You can follow BBC Hampshire & Isle of Wight on Facebook, X (Twitter), or Instagram.
Telegraph
5 days ago
- General
- Telegraph
Donkeys cause chaos by breaking into eco-friendly food bins
Roaming donkeys in the New Forest could scupper a full roll-out of food waste bins for residents after breaking into them and having a 'feast'. The animals are taking advantage of a three-month pilot scheme in Brockenhurst, New Milton and Lymington by tucking into leftovers but concerns have been raised that they could contract foot and mouth disease or African swine fever. 'I think it is only going to get worse. If the donkeys start working out how to get into these bins then they will keep doing it and the diseases will continue to spread, which is just not fair on the animals,' said Andrew Parry-Norton, chairman of the Commoners' Defence Association which has represented the Hampshire national park's community and animals for more than 100 years. 'And it will only get worse in the autumn when the pigs come out, as they really will eat anything. If the diseases spread then it could cost the farming industry, which is already in a tough place, millions if not billions of pounds to deal with. That is not an exaggeration. 'We are all for recycling, especially as the area is so connected to nature, but it needs to be done in the right way.' Mr Parry-Norton previously raised concerns about the wisdom of the scheme at the Verderers Court, which 'regulates and protects the New Forest's unique agricultural commoning practices'. Residents in the trial have been given a 23-litre brown outdoor food waste caddy and a five-litre grey box for indoors. New Forest district council said food waste would be taken to an anaerobic digestion facility and used to create fertiliser and renewable energy. Gail Whitcher, a New Forest resident, posted photos on Facebook showing donkeys eating from a toppled bin in Brockenhurst. She said: 'The donkeys have knocked over the waste bins into the road and have had a feast all the way down the road on the food waste bins, which I witnessed them opening. It's chaos.' Jack Davies, councillor for Pennington and former mayor of Lymington, said his ward was bearing the brunt of the experiment. He told The Telegraph: 'We are the guinea pig for the rest of the New Forest. The teething problems that we are having will be ironed out but that is no comfort to us in the first phase as there are clearly issues. The new bins feel cheap.' A spokesman for the council said the situation was being monitored 'in the early days of the new service' and advised residents to store the caddies within their property boundary except on collection day. He added: 'The move to bins and caddies is already leading to a massive improvement in street cleanliness. The previously used rubbish sacks were often ripped open by the free roaming animals, as well as seagulls, and foxes.'
Telegraph
28-05-2025
- Health
- Telegraph
New Forest food waste bins ‘pose a danger to roaming pigs'
A row has broken out over the introduction of food waste bins to the New Forest amid claims pigs will break into them and spread disease. Plastic caddies to recycle leftovers are being distributed to residents in the historic national park for the first time, but locals who have the right to graze animals have warned the bins pose a danger to livestock. The group of commoners said it was worried the roaming animals could eat the contents of the plastic receptacles and contract foot and mouth disease or African swine fever, which would be 'extremely dangerous'. Their comments came as authorities in Hampshire's New Forest welcomed a controversial wheelie bin scheme, which was first approved in 2022. Under the £5.6 million programme, food waste caddies are being delivered to residents in Brockenhurst, New Milton, Lymington and surrounding areas between April and June. Andrew Parry-Norton raised concerns at the Verderers' court, a historical body that 'regulates and protects the New Forest's unique agricultural commoning practices'. 'Potential food source' The chairman of the Commoners' Defence Association (CDA) said: ' New Forest district council is going to be supplying food waste bins for weekly collections. The advice is that these bins are left outside the gate and then residents top them up from a smaller kitchen waste bin. 'In the UK, it is illegal to feed or allow kitchen waste to be fed to pigs. 'Not only could this be a problem for pigs, but also donkeys and ponies, who will quickly realise this could become a potential food source. 'We, the CDA, ask the verderers to persuade New Forest district council to retract their advice and request that these bins are kept on the residents' premises where stock [animals] do not have access to it.' Households in the national park have been given a 23-litre brown outdoor food waste recycling caddy and a five-litre grey indoor food waste recycling caddy. The council said food waste would be taken to an anaerobic digestion facility where it would be used to create fertiliser and renewable energy. Speaking after the meeting, Mr Parry-Norton said it was 'a good thing' that the council was looking at improving recycling rates. But he said: 'What they are recommending to the public is that they keep their waste food bins outside their gates. Now, I raised concerns about this. 'African swine fever' 'Obviously, we've got things like foot and mouth and African swine fever on the Continent, and that could come across in imported foods, harmless to humans, but obviously extremely dangerous to our animals – especially pigs. 'And so I raised concerns [that] our pigs could actually break these bins open and get hold of this waste food.' The commoner said he spoke with a councillor about the matter last week, who tried to 'assure me that it's very hard to get the lids off'. Mr Parry-Norton added: 'Well, to be honest with you, I don't think he's ever experienced a sow trying to get food out of the bin. She wouldn't take long to destroy a plastic tub – they're quite easy to get into.' The group of commoners – a body that is more than a thousand years old – is urging the council to retract the advice it has given to residents.
