A London councillor has sparked chaos during a town hall meeting after claiming youths have been beheading cats in a park in Bexley.
Barry Saunders, who sits as the Conservative councillor for Falconwood & Welling on Bexley Borough Council, alleged decapitated felines as a problem experienced in the area while discussing controversial plans for a new Go Ape adventure playground in the Grade II-listed Danson Park.
The controversy, which is already the subject of hundreds of objections, centres around three rope courses at the site.
Residents have expressed concern about the “commercialisation” of the “precious and protected public asset”.
However, the discussion descended into chaos when Cllr Saunders made his extraordinary cat claim.
Speaking at Bexley Borough Council’s Planning Committee on Thursday night, Cllr Saunders said: “We have seen some major issues within the parks in the past and it’s horrible to say but some of our youths are not nice youths.
“I’ll be straight up, and we’ve all probably heard of it, we have had people cutting heads off cats.
“It has been disgusting what goes on in these parks. Now if you have got something like this [Go Ape] there I believe you are going to cause more issues.”
Barry Saunders, who sits as the Conservative councillor for Falconwood & Welling on Bexley Borough Council, alleged decapitated felines as a problem experienced in the area while discussing controversial plans for a new Go Ape adventure playground in the Grade II-listed Danson Park
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BEXLEY BOROUGH COUNCIL
He added: “We already have a major problem within our ward with antisocial behaviour with many groups of youths coming from out of borough causing problems as it is.”
The meeting at Bexley Borough Council was interrupted as members of the public heckled and jeered councillors from the gallery.
The controversial Go Ape plans were eventually approved, prompting a chorus of boos from local residents in attendance.
The four-hour meeting was paused as security was called in to disperse frustrated members of the public gallery.
However, Cllr Saunders’s remarks also appeared to trigger a furious backlash inside Bexley’s Tory Party, with one reportedly branding their own Conservative colleagues “scumbags”.
There is no evidence to suggest cats have been found beheaded in Bexley parks.
However, there was one incident of a black and white cat being found decapitated last year.
The feline, who was called Bob, was found in an alleyway after going missing for just two days in June last year.
A vet described his injuries as a deliberate act caused by a person, local reports at the time revealed.
Cllr Saunders’s claim appeared to echo baseless concerns expressed by Donald Trump during the 2024 US Presidential Election.
During a televised debate with then-Democratic nominee Kamala Harris, Mr Trump said: “In Springfield, they are eating the dogs. The people that came in, they are eating the cats.
“They’re eating – they are eating the pets of the people that live there.”
Donald Trump came under fire after making baseless claims about Haitian migrants had been eating cats and dogs
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GETTYThe claim, which was decried as a conspiracy theory, centred around allegations made against Haitian immigrants who moved to Ohio.
Responding to the chaotic scenes in Bexley on Thursday, a spokesman for the local Conservative-run council stressed the move was a “regulatory decision”.
“Danson Park is already home to several water sports, a playground, a splash park, tennis courts, football pitches, and several businesses,” the spokesman added.
“Now that the application is approved, Bexley Council will engage with the company to deliver this new facility and secure the best deal on behalf of residents.”
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