43 Parakeets Found Dead: How Much Longer Must Priory Gardens Wildlife Suffer?

For generations, Priory Gardens has been one of Orpington’s best-loved green spaces.

But this week it has made BBC London News for a very different reason.

Forty-three ring-necked parakeets have been found dead in Priory Gardens in just three weeks, according to Greenwich Wildlife Network, amid renewed concern about the longstanding problem of catapult attacks on wildlife in the park.

Five birds were reportedly discovered on Monday alone.

The latest deaths are shocking. Perhaps even more disturbing, however, is that the problem itself is anything but new.

Campaigners say catapult attacks on wildlife in Priory Gardens date back to 2020.

Six years later, after police reports, protests, arrests, media coverage, councillor involvement and approaches to government, wildlife is apparently still being targeted.

For Reform UK Orpington, that raises a simple question:

How many more years should residents be expected to wait before this problem is actually brought under control?

Wildlife Targeted While It Sleeps

Greenwich Wildlife Network director Rae Gellel told the BBC that groups of youths have been using a practice known as “lamping”.

Parakeets gather together to roost in trees after dark. According to Gellel, attackers shine powerful lights towards the sleeping birds before firing catapults at them.

The Network says 43 parakeets have been recovered dead over a three-week period.

It is important to distinguish between what has been reported and what has yet to be established by the authorities. Bromley Council described the latest incidents as what appears to be the maiming or killing of birds, while confirming that it is assisting police with an ongoing investigation.

But these latest discoveries come against a disturbing history.

The Network says attacks reported since 2020 have involved not only parakeets but squirrels, pigeons, coots and ducks.

Residents and visitors have reportedly witnessed attacks in daylight, while campaigners say ammunition including ball bearings, nuts and bolts has been recovered from the park.

Six Years of Warnings

Nobody can reasonably claim that the authorities haven’t heard about the problem.

Greenwich Wildlife Network has staged protests.

Residents have made repeated reports to police.

Local councillors have been involved.

The issue has received extensive media coverage.

It has been raised with senior police officers.

Orpington MP Gareth Bacon has pursued the issue of catapult regulation with the Government.

And now it has again reached BBC London News.

Yet here we are in September 2026 discussing another appalling series of wildlife deaths.

That is why Reform UK Orpington believes it is no longer enough simply to list the telephone calls made, meetings attended, letters written and concerns raised.

The measure of success must surely be whether the attacks stop.

And they haven’t.

What Are Bromley Council and Police Doing?

It is important to acknowledge that concern from our Council leaders has been shown.

Orpington councillor Kim Botting says she recently raised the problem with Superintendent Priya Shome at a Public Protection and Enforcement meeting.

She says police patrol the area and have made arrests, while acknowledging that officers cannot be present around the clock.

Councillor Botting also says Bromley Council officers and portfolio holder Councillor Angela Page are examining the possibility of banning catapults through a Public Spaces Protection Order (PSPO).

Meanwhile, Gareth Bacon MP has pursued restrictions or licensing of catapults at national level. According to Councillor Botting, the Government’s response has been that police already possess sufficient powers.

These are all relevant actions and they should be recognised.

But there is an uncomfortable fact that cannot be escaped:

the problem continues.

After six years, residents are entitled to ask whether the existing response has been effective enough.

Priory Gardens Deserves More Than Concern

Bromley Council told the BBC:

“There continues to be concern, which is shared by all, at what appears to be the distressing maiming or killing of birds…”

We don’t doubt that concern for a moment.

Nor do we doubt that councillors, police officers, volunteers and residents genuinely want these attacks stopped.

But concern isn’t enough anymore.

If existing measures haven’t prevented the attacks, then those measures need to be reviewed.

If a PSPO could provide additional powers, residents deserve to know what is required to introduce one and how quickly that process can realistically happen.

If particular areas or times are repeatedly associated with attacks, every practical option for protecting those locations should be examined with police and wildlife organisations.

And if national legislation is inadequate, pressure for change should continue.

Doing the same thing indefinitely while wildlife continues to suffer cannot be considered an acceptable outcome.

Parakeets Being Non-Native Is No Excuse for Cruelty

Some discussion surrounding the deaths has focused on ring-necked parakeets being a non-native species.

That does not give members of the public permission to inflict suffering on them.

As Greenwich Wildlife Network rightly told the BBC, lawful wildlife control remains subject to legal conditions and welfare requirements.

The organisation recently treated a parakeet recovered alive from the lake with a severe chest injury. Despite attempts to save it, the bird died.

Whatever anybody’s opinion about the presence of parakeets in Britain, deliberately inflicting suffering on an animal is an entirely different matter.

The Volunteers Deserve Our Support

One group should certainly not carry the blame for what is happening.

The volunteers, wildlife rescuers and residents who have spent years reporting incidents and looking after Priory Gardens deserve enormous credit.

Without their persistence, many incidents might never have come to wider attention.

The Friends group, Greenwich Wildlife Network and ordinary residents cannot be expected to police a public park themselves.

They have sounded the alarm.

It is the responsibility of those with the necessary authority and powers to find an effective response.

Six Years Is Long Enough

Priory Gardens should be somewhere families can walk, children can play and wildlife can live without being deliberately targeted.

This issue has now survived years of reports, political involvement and promises of action.

Reform UK Orpington welcomes every genuine attempt being made to tackle it, including the consideration of a catapult PSPO.

But residents should judge progress by results, not simply by how often the problem has been discussed.

Forty-three dead parakeets in three weeks is not a successful outcome.

Six years after the first reported catapult attacks, Orpington deserves more than another round of concern followed by another round of incidents.

Something has to change.

And the wildlife of Priory Gardens should not have to wait another six years for it.