A man has expressed his shock after discovering two boxes of rotting meat dumped next to a canal in Walsall, initially fearing he had stumbled upon a dead body.
Discovery of the Rotting Meat
Steve Day noticed the putrid meat on a path in Walsall on Wednesday, May 27. He described the stench as 'overpowering' and said he could smell it from 100 feet away. 'I thought there was a dead body until I saw the dump site,' he told BlackCountryLive.
Mr Day expressed concern for local wildlife, noting that the meat was leaking fluids into the canal near newborn geese and swanlets. He estimated there was between 50 and 100 kilograms of rotting meat.
Authorities Respond
Mr Day reported the incident to Walsall Council and the Canal & River Trust. The waste has since been removed. A council spokesperson said: 'Fly-tipping and environmental pollution are taken seriously, and prompt action was taken to resolve this issue. We encourage anyone with information to report it via our website or by calling 01922 653355.'
A Canal & River Trust spokesperson added: 'We are absolutely appalled to see that rotten meat has been fly-tipped along the canal in Walsall. This kind of behaviour is completely unacceptable. Not only is it an eyesore, but it poses a serious risk to public health, local wildlife, and the environment.'
Call for Action
The trust urged those responsible to reflect on the damage caused and asked anyone with information to report it to the council. 'Our canals should be valued and respected as shared community spaces, not used as dumping grounds. Fly-tipping of this nature has no place in Walsall,' they said.
