Raw meat mysteriously strewn across northern town

Residents in Stockport have raised concerns about potential health risks caused by the ‘strange phenomenon’

Piles of raw meat have been dumped around a town leaving residents “baffled and annoyed”.
Residents of Stockport, Greater Manchester, said piles of chicken and red meat have been discovered mysteriously strewn across the town.
The bizarre craze is fuelling concern over the potential health risks it could have on the local wildlife and animals.
Joanna Williams, the Labour candidate for Reddish South, expressed her concern over this “strange phenomenon”, but said she believes it is an attempt to save money during the cost of living crisis.
“People are really worried about it, about whether there’s any poison in it and if it’s intended for dogs who might get sick if they eat it,” she told the Local Democracy Reporting Service.
“My opinion, if I’m honest, is that it’s businesses cutting costs on legitimate disposal practices during the cost of living crises and they may be unaware that what they are doing is essentially fly tipping even though the product might be seen as biodegradable.”
Ms Williams also speculated that it was being dumped by someone with professional experience as it often looks neatly prepared and cut, but she has passed on all the information to the Reddish Police Station.
Most sightings of this peculiar act have been concentrated around the Manchester Road Park area and the Whitehill industrial estate, with some reports near the Heaton Moor train station.
She added: “It’s a very strange phenomenon and one which the community are finding very distressing and baffling but I’m not sure there’s a lot that the police or council can do until somebody is caught in the act.”
Stockport Council have said they are monitoring the situation in collaboration with the Department for Environment Food and Rural Affairs and Natural England and that they have arranged for the cleanup of the meat whenever it is reported.
Residents have helped in the clean up and have reported the bags of meat sometimes weighing as much as 20kg.
Slough Borough Council reported that they convicted a man in December 2022 of the same offence after he was caught on CCTV.
He was fined £2,640 for each offence of fly-tipping the raw meat, ordered to pay a £190 victim surcharge, as well as £2,872 towards court costs, bringing the total to £13,622.
Greater Manchester Police have been approached for comment.