SIR – I could not believe what I was reading on April 21, when LM Presley, in his letter, suggested using poison to get rid of gulls, and what’s more he says “it works”.


Is this a man who knows what he’s talking about through personal experience?


It is obvious that Mr Presley is unaware that all species of gulls are protected under the Wildlife and Countryside Act of 1981, and the Wildlife (Northern Ireland) Order 1985.


This makes it illegal to intentionally or recklessly injure or kill any gull or damage or destroy an active nest or its contents.


Many people regard gulls as vermin because of their persistence and sometimes seemingly aggressive nature, but the real vermin are those slobbish people who carelessly discard unwanted food which attracts the birds in the first place.


There is work going on under licence to reduce city gull numbers by replacing their eggs with dummy versions, but until mindless people stop inviting the gulls to dine on their leftovers, all this work at taxpayers’ expense will remain an uphill struggle.


C Stanley
Worcester

No business of Obama’s


SIR – Why does Barack Obama think he has the right to tell Brits on how to vote on the EU referendum?


Does Mr Obama think the good old land of the free would accept giving lawmaking powers control of its borders and £350 million each week to an opaque bureaucracy based in another country?
It wouldn’t!


The United States refuses to join the International Criminal Court because it doesn’t want foreign judges telling it what to do.


It has refused to sign a deal with the countries of the north American free trade agreement, and regularly whacks up tariffs when overseas products threaten US industries.


President Obama is only interested in what’s good for America, not the people here.


The United States wants to go through Britain when dealing with Europe – that says it all.


GB DIPPER
Leominster

No reason in referendum


SIR – Derek Fearnside (Letters, April 21) is absolutely right to conclude that the EU referendum campaign is, regrettably, shot through with emotion rather than cool reason. 


One of the key determinants of this is that the referendum was, at the outset, never actually formulated in order to give the British voter a say, but as a party-management device for damping down dissent within the Conservatives and minimising their vote-losses and defections to UKIP.


Thus, it has become as much about the Prime Minister’s credibility as anything else; and the problem with that is that David Cameron’s ratings have nosedived because of the Panama Papers, migration and other matters.
This position is utterly farcical, in that we are about to vote on easily the most important question that most of us will ever face, and yet many will use this vote simply to give the PM and his Tories a perceived kicking.


Meanwhile, large chunks of our national press have completely given up on properly informing the public, and, instead, have become nothing more than heavily biased propaganda sheets.


What a mess! 


David Barlow
Worcester

NHS is not a dictatorship


SIR – I am unable to understand the stance that Jeremy Hunt is taking over the junior doctors’ dispute.
Imposing this new contract was bound to cause anger and mistrust.
Junior doctors already work on Sundays, but voluntarily and for extra payment.


This seven-day contract is clearly unreasonable and will not solve the problems in hospitals on Sundays – other staff and infrastructure is needed for that, including nurses – and we have a shortage of them every day of the week! 


A third of our junior doctors are not British born and could easily relocate if they don’t accept the contract – that would cause chaos in the NHS.
Over half our junior doctors are women who would be particularly adversely affected by these imposed changes.


Junior doctors are highly educated, dedicated and hard-working people who deserve to be listened to and negotiated with. 
To refuse to go back to the negotiating table is stubborn and counter productive.


All disputes in a civilized country should be resolved by sorting out the differences in a grown-up and reasonable fashion.


This is a democracy not a dictatorship.

DILYS KING
Salford Priors

Juniors have gone too far


SIR – So the junior doctors have the support of the public do they?
Well, the moment they overstepped the mark and withdrew emergency care they LOST mine. 


And let’s not forget there are hundreds of cancelled appointments and surgery admissions for the locals.


They will still suffer until the hospitals catch up!

Robert Davison
St John’s, Worcester