Happy Home: Dolly
and Jake Saunders
WHEN
Paul and Dolly Saunders heard a call for new foster parents, they
decided to open their hearts and their home.
The couple felt their cottage
with a half-acre garden, a rope swing and a tree house was the ideal
refuge for a child.
So they were astonished when
their offer was rejected - because they are vegetarians.
Their local authorities had said all applicants were welcome, including
same-sex couples, singles and the unemployed.
Mrs Saunders, a trained chef with a state-of-the-art kitchen, said: 'I
was shocked because we're not sandal-wearing vegans who don't even eat
honey because bees might have died.
'I'm well aware of good nutrition - but the council said a child might
feel uncomfortable living with vegetarians.'
The couple, both 43, thought fostering would be the ideal opportunity to
provide company for their ten-year-old son Jake.
'There has been a lot of
advertising about the desperate need for foster carers in West Sussex
-particularly for children aged 11 and over,' Mrs Saunders said.
'We live in the country, and have a suitable spare bedroom for a boy who
could live with us instead of in a children's home.'
They filled in a one-page application form and mentioned that they did
not eat meat - thinking it would make no difference.
'I said we would be happy for a foster child to eat meat at school, friends'
houses or restaurants, but do not want to cook meat at home,' she explained.
West Sussex county council social worker Maria Parslow then wrote to the
family last month, saying: 'You have confirmed you would not allow any
foster child to eat meat in your home.
'In the circumstances your application will not be taken
forward.'
Mrs Saunders has catered for vegetarians including singers Sting, Bob Dylan
and Paul Weller, actors Steve Martin and Richard Gere, and athlete Carl
Lewis.
Last night, she and her husband spoke of their disappointment at their
£750,000 three-bedroom home in the village of Kirdford, near Billingshurst,
West Sussex.
Mrs Saunders, now a part-time florist, said: 'It would seem that to become a
foster carer it is acceptable to be single, gay, lesbian or living on
benefits, but not to be a happily married heterosexual couple who choose to
be vegetarians.'
The Saunders were not motivated to foster by the money -around £150 a week,
she said.
'Yet the council are quite happy to have people on benefits fostering for
the money, despite the fact that the children are not in a particularly good
environment and eat burgers and chips every night.'
If Jake's friends come to play, they eat vegetarian sausages and mash and
'don't even know the difference', she added.
Paul Saunders, who provides lighting for the music business, said: 'I don't
think the council should base their decision on diet - and anyway, ours is
perfectly healthy. Jake is built like a rugby player.'
A spokesman for the council said: 'We have many foster carers who are
vegetarians who will serve meat and fish.
'Mr. and 'Mrs Saunders stated that they would be unable to offer this degree
of flexibility.'
Yesterday a council spokesman said its guidelines were being revised and the
Saunders' application could be reconsidered.
Two years ago the Labour-run Greenwich council in London was accused of
'barmy' political correctness when it insisted that two children were
adopted by lesbians because their mother was in a same-sex relationship.
Couples have also been told their home is 'too remote' for an adopted child,
or that they are 'too middle class'.
n.sears@dailymail.co.uk
