Borders: Scotland's favourite have a pot shot destinationMany people might agree that the letter writer to this week's Berwickshire has a point. The peaceful friendly Borders has a dreadful reputation as far as the illegal killing of wild life is concerned.
- T
The most serious crimes are committed against people and perpetrators must be dealt with severely.
However, criminals who harm wildlife are to be pitied as well as punished, for they cannot aspire to anything greater than ignorance, greed and cruelty.
Ignorant because they do not understand that all of nature’s creatures exist in harmony, until man upsets the natural balance.
For example, if we try to eradicate rabbits, then of course the fox has to look for other prey. If a fox should take one of my hens, then it is my fault for not protecting them sufficiently, as the fox is only behaving naturally.
Keeping pigeons is a fascinating hobby, but people who do so must recognise that to a certain extent they are working against nature, not with it. It is inevitable that a pigeon will occasionally be lost to a raptor, but to suggest that birds of prey should be killed because of this is just plain ignorant - and selfish.
The same goes for landowners and farmers who are responsible for the deaths of golden eagles and red kites etc. Their motivation is pure greed as the only beauty they see is a healthy bank balance from the season’s shooting.
Then there are the badger baiters and dog ‘fighters’ who are so low down the pecking order of intelligence that they actually take pleasure in being cruel to animals.
Everyone should note that it does not do the reputation of Berwickshire any good if the only reason we feature in national news is because of wildlife crime.
We think we are so superior and ‘civilised’ in Britain, but we have a great deal to learn about sustainable and harmonious living from the ‘primitive’ tribes of the Amazon forests.It may be a bit unfair to blame the land owners and farmers but I suppose you should start somewhere
Labels: Badger baiting. Golden Eagle poisoning, Borders Wildlife
