SIR – Simon McCullough (Worcester News Letters, June 1, 2011) is most insistent that his straw poll of the Worcester News website is irrefutable proof that most local people are against hunting.
Any reputable opinion poll gauges a trend from a random sample of a thousand people, not a few dozen anonymous comments on the web. When Mr McCullough can quote some solid figures from an independent poll into hunting in Worcestershire it may be worth returning to this particular issue for further debate.
Mr McCullough dismisses the fact that a fox may remaining in a cage trap for 20 hours. The answer is simple, by law every trap must be inspected at least once in every 24 hours.
Visiting it at shorter intervals is, however, likely to deter the target animal.
Mr McCullough recommends cage trapping as the answer to reducing fox numbers but clearly knows nothing about this method from a legal or animal welfare viewpoint.
As for Mr McCullough’s disparaging remarks about me failing to use “modern technology to keep ahead of the times”, well, this is an amusing stereotype but having looked in awe at a main frame IBM nearly 40 years ago and acquainted myself with most PCs since, I have come to regard the computer for all its faults as a vital tool for defending our countryside.
JON BURGESS
Worcester
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here