Angry wildlife campaigners have accused Chesham Town Council of “unnecessary, cruel and traumatic” treatment of ducks and geese at a popular park.

The campaigners, who wanted to remain anonymous, say domestic wildfowl in Skottowes Pond in Lowndes Park are being removed – even though they are a popular with families and young children in the Chesham park.

Chesham Town Council has admitted “humanely re-housing” geese and ducks from the park – saying they have “serious over-population” issues on the pond.

But one distraught campaigner, who regularly visits the park to monitor the situation and has launched a petition, claims that dozens of wildfowl have disappeared and has witnessed “council workers” trying to net geese and ducks.

She said the tactics are “unnatural and cruel” – and campaigners have no idea where the birds end up once they are removed.

She also said that the central island in the pond has been “raked clear” of foliage and shrubbery, meaning they have struggled to build nests.

Talking to the Bucks Free Press, the campaigner and Chesham resident said: “The island is where they seek refuge, for safety and sleeping. It has been raked clear and left with earth – there is nothing to build a nest with.

“The fencing panels which once stood on the island providing a wind shield have collapsed to the ground and after years have only just been removed with no replacements because the council does not want the geese to breed.

“There is a solution – remove the eggs, not the geese. The fact is, they just don’t want them there but they are in the minority. The staff numbers do not exceed 20 people when there is the whole of Chesham to make up far greater numbers.

“How many of the council workers live in Chesham? They are very dictatorial. To take wildfowl away from their chosen place is just inhumane. They provide amusement, interest, comfort and enjoyment and most people engage with them.”

The 36-acre Lowndes Park was largely donated to the town in 1953 by the Lowndes family and is managed today by the town council.

Amid fears that the pond will be completely emptied of wild birds, campaigners have got Chesham and Amersham MP Dame Cheryl Gillan involved, who has also consulted with the town council on their plans.

In response to the concerns, Bill Richards, town clerk at Chesham Town Council said they have a “commitment” to humanely rehousing the domestic geese and ducks to an “environment more suited to them”.

He said: “At no time have we attempted to remove Canada geese which would be illegal without a licence (and, in any case, somewhat self-defeating, since, as wild birds they may well fly back anyway).

“We are however oiling the eggs under General Licence GL05 to try and reduce the breeding numbers on the pond’s island. This is totally lawful and, in fact, the RSPCA, upon investigation, has informed us recently that we are acting in a correct and reasonable manner.

“The continued over-population of the park by wildfowl is having a serious negative effect on the state of Skottowes Pond in terms of water quality (we commissioned an independent consultant to investigate the pond’s condition some five years ago and his report concluded this).”