St George’s Hill Lawn Tennis Club has come under scrutiny, but for all the wrong reasons. It all happened after the prestigious club in Weybridge, Surrey, decided to take an unexpected step against its resident Canada geese last month.

Club management hired marksmen to shoot the geese after they were seen making a mess on the courts. Members say they weren’t told beforehand, and the geese were killed in secret. They’re unsurprisingly furious and are demanding an explanation for the decision.

Residents around the club reported hearing gunshots at around 5:25 a.m. on July 16. Eight birds, including goslings, were later confirmed dead. Two survived, an adult goose and one gosling, though members say the pair was later spotted “in a distressed state wandering the local area.” The operation was carried out under a Natural England licence permitting the killing of certain bird species on public health or safety grounds. Being one of the most prestigious clubs in the country, members say they never expected such a step against animals many of them had grown fond of.

The 16-acre club is quite popular and has been visited by several celebrities and billionaires. It has a total of 3,700 members, who pay an annual fee of £2,664 ($3,594). Famous residents include John Lennon and Jenson Button. It contains 34 courts, including grass, clay and indoor surfaces. Prominent players like Emma Raducanu and Harriet Dart have played in the UK Pro Series and Classic Tournament that is organized by the club.

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What makes the decision even more jarring is that the club had publicly celebrated the geese before. In April 2025, it posted on social media,

“We have baby goslings on our Lakeside Terrace!”

The year before, it shared a photo of the birds out on the court in the rain. Members say the affection was real and mutual.

“The members have always liked the geese. It is sometimes a bit annoying because they amble onto the courts and leave their poo,” a club member told The Times. “But that does not mean they had to be shot. It’s a private estate, and the residents are concerned about a firearm being brought in without any warning.”

Another member said that the club didn’t consult them before taking the decision and felt that the Geese only increased the beauty of the courts.

“The club management ordered this because they felt the birds were making the courts messy. There was no consultation with the members. The club is in a beautiful setting, and the birds were part of that,” the other member said.

With criticism mounting against them, the club’s chief executive, Miles Hill, released an official statement, revealing why it was necessary for them to get rid of the Geese.

Miles Hill addressed the matter and the backlash through a statement

With criticism mounting, the club’s chief executive, Miles Hill, released a statement explaining why the cull was, in his account, necessary.

Hill said the club never wanted to take such a step but felt it had no real alternative, citing public health and safety.

“We fully understand that some members and estate residents have been upset by what occurred,” he said in the statement. “This was not a decision the club wished to take, nor one that was taken lightly. It followed many months of attempting to manage a growing resident population of Canada geese through enhanced cleaning and non-lethal measures.

“The decision was taken primarily on the grounds of public health and public safety. Despite extensive daily cleaning by multiple members of our grounds team, we were increasingly unable to keep pace with the volume of faeces being produced.”

Adult Canada geese defecate roughly every six minutes, adding up to nearly a kilogram of droppings a day per bird, a volume Hill said had simply overwhelmed the club’s cleaning efforts.

Hill said the cull was kept confidential specifically to carry it out “safely and effectively” and to avoid “causing unnecessary concern, distress or alarm” over what he described as a lawful operational matter. The club says it’s now reviewing its wildlife management strategy going forward, with a focus on habitat changes and non-lethal deterrence, and lethal measures reserved, in Hill’s words, as an “absolute last resort.”

Club members have yet to respond directly to Hill’s statement. Whether they escalate the matter further, through a formal complaint, a membership vote, or continued public pressure, remains the open question hanging over the club as the backlash continues to build.