'Moron' jibe puts cat among the pigeons (From Stroud News and Journal)

'Moron' jibe puts cat among the pigeons

A DISTRICT councillor has outraged pigeon campaigners by sending out an insulting email describing their cause as "pointless rubbish".

Pigeon supporter Paul Taylor, 38, was stunned when his plea to end bird culls in Stroud resulted in a brief reply from Cllr Robert Sinfield that read: "Stop emailing me this pointless rubbish. Get a life you moron."

The attack by Cllr Sinfield, a member of the ruling Conservative group at Ebley Mill, has sparked anger among animal rights groups across the country.

"It is unbelievable," said Mr Taylor. "I am very surprised that a man in his position would even think about sending an email like that.

"I sent a very polite email to lots of councillors in Stroud trying to give them advice and I got a very rude reply back."

Campaigners mistakenly believed that Stroud District Council was responsible for the shooting of pigeons in Merrywalks.

But the cull was actually organised by staff at the precinct, as reported in the SNJ last week.

Despite this, Penny Simpson from pressure group Pigeon Campaigns UK said that the mix-up was no excuse for insulting concerned people.

"It is extremely rude," she said. "Coming from a councillor who should behave in a responsible manner it is terrible."

Fellow campaigner John Robins from Animal Concern said: "I have dealt with some shocking councillors before but this guy takes the biscuit."

"It is a sensitive subject and he is just making matters worse." Another pigeon-lover, Kate Fowler-Reeves, added: "I think it would be best if he left his position and took a job where nasty outbursts would be tolerated - perhaps as a celebrity chef."

Cllr Sinfield told the SNJ he accepted the email was a mistake and said he had been bombarded with messages from campaigners on his personal email address.

"I did react badly to one of many emails," he said. "They were arriving on my home computer and some of them were quite abusive.

"I did not respond with a council computer, nor did I prefix the email with the word councillor."

Ebley Mill spokesman Dave Marshall said the council was not planning any disciplinary action against Cllr Sinfield.

He added that any councillors concerned by the email could raise it at a council meeting. Green councillor John Marjoram, who has called for more debate on pigeon culls, said the email was a mistake but stopped short of condemning Cllr Sinfield outright.

"He acted inappropriately but I can understand why he did it," said Cllr Marjoram. "I think he got his feathers ruffled."