Bunny huggers

I am appalled at the “Disneyfication” of our once great nation. The rescue services are called to assist a grey squirrel stuck up a telegraph pole or a gull trapped in a chimney.

Recently, the RSPCA was called to rescue a fox with its head stuck between two gravestones and a spokesman for the organisation said that, if a member of the public had not reported the matter, he “dreaded to think what could have happened”.

What next? Mouth-to-mouth resuscitation of a rat or the arrest of someone seen killing a wasp?

The church I attend has an infestation of mice and despite my warnings that humane methods of dealing with this problem would not work (they did not), my advice about proper spring traps and poisoning was delayed, to the point that parishioners had mice running over their feet. Now, of course, the task is very much more difficult than it would have been had the sensible methods been employed at first.

The excuses were that some people were vegetarian – but I do not think that there was a suggestion that the mice be eaten – and that “they are all God’s creatures”.

The fact that they are a health hazard, can cause problems with electrical wiring and the organ and, in fact, deter some people from attending services and recitals, these “bunnyhuggers” are still concerned about the well-being of these disgusting creatures.

Many people feed the grey squirrels or gulls in their gardens. Anthropomorphism is pervading our culture, no doubt fuelled by certain television programmes, to such an extent that we are in danger of being overrun with vermin.

The television companies should show viewers the real danger of vermin instead of the “fluffy” side. Some people even try “humane” methods of slug control. How can one fall in love with a slug?

To add to all these concerns, there are a number of people with loud voices who are campaigning for the “re-wilding” of our countryside.

Already, we have beavers but they wish to reintroduce lynx, wolves and even bears to our small, overcrowded island. Never mind the views of those who farm the land: “Why do we need farmers? They only destroy the countryside.” This is their mantra. They do not realise that without farming, hunting, shooting and fishing, there would be no recognisable landscape.

It is high time to stop pandering to “bunny-huggers” and also to stop conferring “protected status” to certain animals and birds.

Commonsense must prevail in our country.

V Hemsley-flint Wormshill, Kent