Cow herd plan for Stoke Park gets go-ahead
Despite protests from vegan groups, the decision was unanimously approved by the authority's ruling Liberal Democrat cabinet at a meeting held on Thursday night at the Knowle West Media Centre.
A herd of cows will soon be grazing on the 200-acre parkland by Dower House to produce beef for schools and restaurants.
Cabinet councillor for the environment Gary Hopkins said: "The opportunity to purchase Stoke Park is enormous and not one that comes up very regularly.
"I'm not one to tell Bristol schoolchildren that they cannot eat meat. If they are going to eat meat, I would much rather it is farmed organically in Bristol than imported from far away.
"It will be of better quality, it will be a better product and it will very much be in the interests of Bristol and the children who will be eating it.
"Our primary objective is not going into the farming business but to guarantee Stoke Park for the people of Bristol, and I would rather see a cow on there than a tractor."
City council officers worked with Bristol-based organic farming group the Soil Association on plans for the park, which have not been finalised but are likely to also include allotments being made available and the safeguarding of ancient woodlands.
Lockleaze residents' representative Steven England, 42, of Flaxman Close, welcomed the cabinet's decision.
He said: "This parkland has got such a fascinating history and it has got massive potential, especially educational potential for younger children.
"I am so happy and so excited. It's such great news. This has been a lifetime's ambition for me. When I was a boy I grew up in those woods and I can't wait to see them restored to their former glory."
Not everyone, however, welcomed the decision. Bristol-based vegetarian campaigners Viva! staged a protest against the decision outside the Council House earlier in the day.
The "Green Girls", wearing "Vegan: Can't Get Greener" T-shirts, tutus and green wigs, were joined by a cow mascot encouraging Bristolians to become vegan.
Viva! campaigner Zephie Begolo said: "Bristol promotes itself as a green city but it is taking such a massive leap backwards in terms of environmental policies.
"While it is admirable that they are considering the impact of our diet on the environment, raising cattle in the city is not the answer and is only a mere smoke screen of self-sufficiency.
"Carbon dioxide will be saved through a reduction in food miles, yet methane, a substance with 20-times the global warming potential of CO2, will still be emitted, contributing significantly to the environmental catastrophes that we face."
"Bristol aspires to be an eco city – yet in order to truly be so, it must acknowledge the damaging effect of the meat industry on the planet and should be promoting a healthy, plant-based diet, which could also be grown within the city's limits.
"Meat is massively inefficient so the council should be supporting and expanding on Bristol's organic fruit and vegetable production, creating more allotment spaces and promoting vegetarianism as a significant way we can cut our carbon footprints."
Thursday's cabinet meeting was the first to be held outside the Council House.
Council leader Barbara Janke said that further meetings away from College Green in the future were likely.
Cllr Janke said: "We think that it would be good to have meetings in different parts of the city to enable people to come and participate and raise local issues."
"If the issues are local, it would be good to have the decisions made in that particular area. It's something that we are certainly considering, as we have got some very good school buildings now where meetings can be held.
"I think that it went very well today and I hope that more such events can happen in the future."
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