Wildlife group raises alarm after 43 Parakeets killed with catapults in Southeast London Park; shocking claims emerge

An animal rescue organization has sounded the alarm over a sustained campaign of cruelty in a southeast London park, where dozens of parakeets have been targeted and killed using catapults. According to the BBC, Rae Gellel, director of the Greenwich Wildlife Network, reported that volunteers discovered 43 dead ring-necked parakeets in Priory Gardens in Orpington over a three-week period, including five birds found on a single Monday.

The BBC further noted Gellel's account that young adults are executing these attacks using catapults, also known as slingshots. Gellel stated that the perpetrators are engaging in a trend referred to on social media as “lamping.” Because ring-necked parakeets roost together in trees at night, attackers can easily target them by shining bright lights into the branches to stun and disorient the birds before shooting them.

According to Gellel, catapult attacks in Priory Gardens date back to around 2020. Before the recent spike in parakeet deaths, a variety of local fauna, including ducks, pigeons, and squirrels, were targeted.


Heavy ball bearings, nuts, and bolts are routinely found scattered across the park's grass. These projectiles inflict severe fractures and deep, circular wounds on the animals. Local residents have reportedly witnessed some of these attacks during daylight hours, with Gellel claiming that bystanders saw attackers filming the violence to upload onto social media platforms.

“This is sustained, deliberate cruelty, and after so many years it is incredibly frustrating that it is still happening,” Gellel told Need To Know, emphasizing that after “six or seven years of animals being shot, maimed and killed,” continuing to ignore the behavior is unacceptable.

In the wake of these latest deaths, the Greenwich Wildlife Network is urging authorities to prioritize wildlife crime and enforce stricter age restrictions on catapult sales to individuals under 18. The organization has actively campaigned against these actions in the past, including organizing an “End Catapult Cruelty” protest march. BBC London previously reported on similar demands for a catapult sales ban in April following earlier wildlife attacks in the same park.

While acknowledging that ring-necked parakeets are an invasive, non-native species subject to different legal frameworks than native birds, Gellel stressed that basic welfare protections remain applicable.

“Being classed as an invasive or non-native species does not remove an animal’s capacity to suffer, nor does it make deliberate cruelty acceptable,” she told the BBC. “A catapult attack leaving a bird grievously wounded is not something that should be brushed aside simply because of the species involved.”