Appearing on 21 September before Judge Simon Wilkinson, at Snaresbrook crown court, pre-sentence reports are to be prepared on both pest controllers before punishment is handed-down on 18 October.
Both former Newham Council pest officers, Terence Webb, 28, from Hainault and Mark Page, 35, from East Ham are accused of stealing a pest control product from their workplace and using it unlawfully near the lakes in the parkland to see if they could kill crows.
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However, as reported in The Metro: 90 birds including geese, moorhens and coots – along with a German shepherd dog – died after eating the poison, jurors heard. The dog was said to have been the ‘sole companion’ of its elderly owner. It suffered violent convulsions and died 20 minutes after consuming the bait laced with Ficam W. Helen Owen for the prosecution. said: “During the course of the lunch breaks over two days, they attended Wanstead Flats [in east London]where there is a pond and a park. “They baited bread with pesticide and put it down. A dog died along with 90 wild birds There seemed to be an indication or a suggestion that they were curious to see if a crow would die. “They seemed to be doing it for their own amusement. The park warden came to find dead birds all over the area of the lake.” Both men have admited two counts of using a pesticide without approval and two counts of theft. This is certainly publicity the professional pest control industry can do without. Dr Julian Little, a spokesperson for Bayer CropScience said: “It is extremely important that anyone using a product such as Ficam to eradicate pests, does so in accordance with the law, and the label instructions, to avoid any unnecessary impact on the environment. Any misuse or deliberate abuse of our products is completely unacceptable”. Pest will report further on the case after 18 October. |
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