Sir, – Members of Tayside Bat Group were very surprised to read the article on Monday about an alleged bat attack.
It is very unusual to hear of someone being bitten by a bat in this way and this incident is not representative of bat behaviour.
Occasionally a pipistrelle bat will get lost or take a wrong turning while chasing an insect and fly in through an open window by mistake.
If this happens, everyone should remain calm and quietly exit the room. The Bat Conservation Trust runs a Bat Helpline 0345 1300 228 which will give advice if you find a bat.
The trust also has a network of carers who will rescue and care for injured bats found in your home.
Rabies has never been found in pipistrelle bats which are the species of bat normally found around our homes, but it is good practice to always wear gloves if handling a bat as, like most animals, they only bite or scratch to defend themselves when cornered or frightened.
In the Tayside area we have five species of bats and all of them eat only insects. They live very long lives for such small mammals and have only one baby a year, which stays in a “batty nursery” together with other babies while their mothers catch insects to eat.
Our bats do a great job of free insect control every night so they are really our silent friends.
Jean Oudney.
Chairperson,
Tayside Bat Group,
Blair View,
Blairgowrie House Road,
Blairgowrie.
Hold nuclear tests inquiry
Sir, – Now that the Chilcot and the Hillsborough inquiries are completed, does the Government have the courage to hold an inquiry into the events surrounding the British nuclear tests?
British servicemen were treated as human guinea pigs in order to assess the damage limitations, if we were to have a nuclear war.
All nuclear veterans, without their consent, have been placed on medical research programme MR185.
It is time that a full inquiry was held to reveal the uncivilised treatment meted out to service personnel who were refused protective clothing and respirators during the British nuclear tests.
Dave Whyte.
73 Blackcraigs,
Kirkcaldy.
Examine UK’s bank system
Sir, – The Governor of The Bank of England, Mark Carney, offers to help banks to lend more during the uncertainty of Brexit but to whom and for what purpose?
The recent £375 billion of quantitative easing – printing money to us ordinary folk – went to the rich kids who fuelled the stock market in a recession, drove up house prices and created new and useless markets in used cars and antiques.
Now he prepares to allow banks to reduce their capital reserves in order to pump more money into those same hands.
If ever anything needed serious examination, it is the banking system that cynically exploits every situation to its own advantage and does absolutely nothing for those who really need help.
Malcolm Parkin.
Gamekeepers Road,
Kinnesswood,
Kinross.
We need Leave backer at helm
Sir, – With the leadership campaign for Prime Minister now on, it really concerns me that Theresa May might win the contest.
This is a huge mistake. Theresa May as Home Secretary has made numerous mistakes, such as the relaxation of border checks by the United Kingdom Border Agency and the failure to deport foreign prisoners.
She has refused to take responsibility for these failings.
How can someone who backed the Remain campaign now lead Brexit talks for getting the best deal for Britain?
Please, do not let it be Theresa May.
Gordon Kennedy.
117 Simpson Square,
Perth.
Pray for leader of wisdom
Sir, – If ever there was a great need to pray for our nation and its Government, then surely now is that time.
We would do well to ask the Lord to give us an understanding and compassionate Prime Minister and also to raise up wise and strong leaders who will take the United Kingdom in the best direction for the times ahead.
Stuart Wishart.
12 Walnut Grove,
Blairgowrie.
Perth Harbour can be vibrant
Sir, – Thousands of miles of unnecessary HGV trips are made in the UK each year, together with hundreds of unnecessary man hours.
One reason for this is that too many loads of imported goods are deposited at southern ports rather than being shipped to our northern ports.
This backs my argument that Perth Harbour can, and should be, further utilised for local commerce.
Perth Harbour has an excellent record of loading and unloading. It is second to none.
Yes, we have issues with length, draught and the Dundee port fees.
None of these issues is insurmountable if we want Perth Harbour to succeed.
Already we have plans to upgrade the river channels to allow greater access.
The new generation of Rhine river craft are built specifically for inland harbours and can carry a greater variety of cargoes that could create a more diverse and far more vibrant Perth Harbour.
Councillor Henry Anderson.
Almond and Earn ward,
Perth and Kinross Council,
4 Muirmont Crescent,
Bridge of Earn.
Ms Hjul unfair to Alex Salmond
Sir, – It is more than a little rich for your columnist Jenny Hjul to criticise Alex Salmond, apparently without a hint of irony, for his supposed “obsession” with and “irrational hatred” of Tony Blair because of his central role in the catastrophic, illegal Iraq War.
Almost every column which Ms Hjul writes seems to be an angry rant against the SNP, as any quick scroll through the online archive of her contributions attests.
Over and over again, often for weeks or even months on end, on matters both petty and profound, the SNP is the focus of her considerable ire.
The longevity and loathing of her personal fixation with the former First Minister in particular is astounding.
Ms Hjul has spent years penning highly aggressive, bitter pieces attacking Mr Salmond – and continues to do so even long after his departure from Bute House.
Is desperately attempting to draw a ludicrous equivalence between the Scottish Government and the East German secret police, the Stasi, as she did a few weeks ago, really the act of a writer not consumed by an obsessive, irrational hatred?
David Kelly.
17 Highfields,
Dunblane.