Truly sorry for nuisance but it wasn't all our fault

I'M NOT writing this out of revenge or spite but would like to express mine and my family's thoughts and feelings following the article published last week about our mother being evicted (Cornishman, September 30, "Neighbours' torment is over at last").

Obviously I cannot say that everything wrote in the article was not true as I haven't lived at the property for almost over two years now. But some of the allegations were not correct to my knowledge.

I and my family would like to apologise for any stress caused to the neighbours.

Some of the nuisance was not just caused by us but people entering and leaving the property.

Our family were very upset when the article was published as it portrayed our family in not a nice way.

People who know us will know the real truth of what did or didn't happen and know that our family are not as bad as we've been made out to be.

I would like to stress that we are very sorry about how things have happened but also people need to take into consideration how this article has affected us and understand that we are trying to get on with our lives, and we do hope our neighbours can too.

Once again on behalf of me and my family, our apologies go out to those who were affected.

LAURA TAYLOR

Newlyn

I continually see dogs disturbing birds at pool

WITH regard to Jenny Jasper's recent letter, I would be interested to know exactly when she walks around Carnsew Pool without seeing any dogs causing a disturbance?

I live on the edge of Lelant Water and continually witness out-of-control dogs disturbing feeding and roosting birds.

Last year I had to telephone the police on two occasions to report dogs physically attacking swans.

I do not know the extent of discussions between the council and the RSPB but I am sure there will have been some. After all the RSPB does have the word "protection" in its title and would be failing in its duty if it did not attempt to do just that.

Does the fact that Mr Parker lives in Marazion and has "information about the disturbances", negate his point of view?

Before Ms Jasper goes into print again, yes I am a RSPB supporter and also a dog lover. I don't see the two as being mutually exclusive.

PETER JEGGO

Lelant

Responsible owners have nothing to worry about

I HAD hoped that my reply to Ms Jasper the other week would have settled the matter but her inaccurate reply demands a response.

The proposed dog control order in no way bans or seeks to ban dogs from the public areas of Hayle Estuary.

Provided the dogs are under control, they are welcome to use the paths. Responsible owners have nothing to fear from the order and none of their rights are affected in any way.

As I understand it, it will be the police who will be authorised to impose the fines, so there will be no costs to the council or to the locals.

In short, I can see absolutely nothing to object to in this proposal.

Incidentally, I hear that yet another swan has been attacked and killed on the estuary, just this week.

D PARKER

Marazion

Flail-style trimmers have destroyed hedge wildlife

KEN TAYLOR accurately recalls the teeming wildlife of 50 years ago, which has disappeared in his lifetime.

Why? Because 40 years ago the flail type of hedge-trimmer was introduced. Until then, most wildlife was thriving despite pesticides and farming practices by living in the well-managed hedges.

They were safe, until the flail came and massacred it in its millions right there in its vital haven, the hedge.

The whirling blades mashed insects and seeds wholesale, rapidly starving the birds, reptiles, amphibians, bats and other small mammals, and wiping out butterfly and moth colonies that had bred abundantly in the hedge for centuries.

The mowings left behind by the flail enriched the soil, overwhelming the wildflower diversity by rank weeds.

Although the devastating flail- induced crash may never be fully repaired, the continuing decline of the remaining wildlife can be reversed by returning to the clean-cutting finger-bar type of hedge trimmer, used in winter, and trimming alternate sides of the hedge in different years.

How do I know this? I saw and recorded in detail the slaughter when the first flails hit Cornwall's hedges in the early 1970s, and have closely monitored the tragedy ever since.

Anyone who wants to know exactly what happened to our wildlife can find out the facts by downloading, for free, The Life And Death Of A Flailed Cornish Hedge, from the Cornish Hedges Library at www.cornishhedges.co.uk

SARAH CARTER

Sancreed

We must complain in order to raise standards

RECENTLY we have been made aware of the fiasco surrounding HM Revenue and Custom's failure to accurately calculate several million income tax accounts.

This initially prompted a senior department official to refute any suggestion of error or incompetence on the part of HMRC but later saw the same official perform a complete U-turn in his attitude.

My wife and I have personal experience of the apparent ineptitude of HMRC in their inability to accurately record our address, despite having been notified verbally and in writing on seven occasions.

The same organisation (this term I use in its loosest sense) required three self-assessment forms for the previous tax year, the last sent by recorded delivery, before an account could be settled.

I make this point not to highlight the serial fallibility of one particular public body but to indicate how an apparent lack of competence and/or attention to detail can impact on the performance and reputation of our nation's public services.

On the horizon we see the imposition of financial constraints and the likelihood of industrial action by public service unions.

Add to this damaging cocktail any notion that our public services are slipping from the grip of public accountability, and the consequences will be dire.

In the private sector the element of competition plays some part in maintaining standards of efficiency and customer satisfaction. If you do not like the way your local garage services your car, there are other garages available.

The same is not true of your council, your police service or your education or health service.

If the standard of service provided by these and other publicly funded organisations falls below that which you might reasonably expect, my argument is that we have a duty to make our views known. There are departments in place to receive, record and investigate performance and service complaints and they should be utilised.

I believe we should expect the standard of public service that we deserve.

It would be a great shame if our own apathy allows any reduction in the effectiveness and standards of our public services to take place.

GEOFFREY PALMER

via e-mail

This misguided killing policy will not stop TB

I AM VERY disappointed, as I am sure many of your readers are, that the Government is pressing ahead with the terminally misguided policy of killing badgers in England.

I cannot call it a "cull" as the majority of those animals killed are likely to be healthy, as evidenced by a study from 2003 (which found that 80 per cent of those killed were actually free of TB).

As it is, the decision to allow farmers to shoot badgers on their own land is disastrous both in terms of welfare and potentially spreading the disease.

This slaughter will happen away from the eyes of the public. There will be no way to monitor welfare – and orphaned cubs are liable to be left to die a long and lonely death in setts.

Badgers are highly territorial and largely stay in one area. However, killing badgers will cause survivors to travel to new areas.

This could have the effect of pushing TB onto farmers' land where no TB currently exists.

In fact, this was one of the major concerns voiced by the largest ever study into TB.

Ten years of research found that "culling" badgers would have no meaningful impact on the spread of the disease.

TB infection in cattle is actually falling in the UK – not going up. Overall, there were 438 fewer total new herd TB incidents in 2009 compared to 2008 – with cases falling in both Wales and the South West of England.

How can this devastation of our natural wildlife be justified when TB infection is falling?

This wildlife massacre is not only cruel but it is not needed. Scientists in Dublin have perfected an oral vaccine that is effective in tackling the disease in badgers.

This new development stops the vaccine being destroyed by powerful acids in badgers' stomachs, meaning it can be fed to them in bait left outside their setts – with no need to catch and inject them.

These scientists have said that this method is the only way to control TB in the badger population long term. This would also be a cost-effective and humane way of getting farmers involved.

However, the bottom line is that bovine TB is a disease of cattle – and cattle-to-cattle is undeniably the main vector.

Killing badgers whilst ignoring this is akin to fiddling while Rome burns.

It is also worth pointing out that the number of cattle killed each year because of TB is dwarfed by those killed because mastitis, lameness and infertility. Yet we never hear about those.

The decision to stamp out British wildlife against the best available scientific opinion smacks of a misplaced allegiance to an industry that can't see the wood for the trees.

Please get involved in the campaign to stop Britain's wildlife being used as the scapegoat for poor agricultural policy and political favouritism.

Visit www.viva.org.uk/badgers or phone 0117 944 1000 to find out how you can help.

JUSTIN KERSWELL

Viva! campaigns manager