A council has come under fire for gassing moles to death because they were ‘disrupting the serenity’ of a church graveyard.
Councillors for Tadley in Basingstoke, Hampshire, were forced to apologise after fierce backlash and insisted they had no choice but to kill the wildlife ‘burrowing’ around graves.
Residents slammed the ‘inhumane’ act, claiming there ‘must have been a better way of dealing with the poor creatures’.
It comes after a sign appeared at the burial ground of St Peter’s Church, warning people and dogs to keep away from the area due to the chemicals.
The sign, which stated the ground would be closed for three days, said: ‘Mole removal is taking place using Talunex aluminium phosphide gassing agent.’
The gassing tablet is used to kill moles, rats and rabbits, but can cause adverse health effects including nausea and breathing difficulties for humans and pets.
The sign, erected earlier this month, led to furious opposition over the method used.
One local, who didn’t wish to be named, claimed that ‘poisoned moles are lying around dead’ in the graveyard but the council disputed this to .
Another resident called the use of the gassing agent ‘inhumane’, adding: ‘There must have been a better way of dealing with the poor creatures.’
St Paul’s Church is part of the same congregation as St Peter’s – and staff admitted they ‘knew nothing’ about the plans.
‘This has not been organised by the church,’ a spokesperson added.
‘The graveyard around St. Peter’s is managed by the town council and Basingstoke and Deane Borough Council.’
Tadley Town Council said that ‘this decision was not taken lightly’.
They said that ‘for some time, the burial ground has faced significant challenges due to mole activity’.
The burrowing had caused ‘unsightly damage to the grounds, caused distress to families and in some cases, posed risks to the safety of visitors’.
They said they initially used ‘traditional trapping methods in an effort to manage the problem’ but ‘these measures failed to achieve the necessary level of control’.
Mole numbers ‘continued to escalate, exacerbating the damage to the burial ground’, according to the council.
‘After consulting with pest control professionals, it became evident that the use of talunex aluminium phosphide, administered in strict compliance with environmental and legal regulations, was the most effective and practical solution to address the issue comprehensively.
‘We understand that this action may raise concerns but we have to balance effective maintenance of the burial ground with respect to all its visitors.’
Chairman of Tadley Town Council, Avril Burdett, said the decision to use a gassing agent was ‘very difficult to make’ but ‘sadly necessary’.
She explained that the council had been trying to track the moles for a number of years, using alternative methods like tracking, luring and trapping the moles.
But the moles had recently ‘gotten out of control’, causing potential health risks for visitors and residents.
The councillor added: ‘There are several reasons; the molehills are unsightly, and we have a lot of elderly people visiting the cemetery, we’ve had problems with molehills causing a trip hazard, as well as very upset people because they’ve found them on their grave.
‘It’s rather inappropriate to have burrowing animals around graves.’
Cllr Burdett concluded: ‘I’m sorry that we’ve upset people.’