Today’s letter writers give their opinions on subjects including beaver trapping, the state of our pavements, a new Scottish national anthem, Coupar Angus’ regeneration, and the state of the Royal Mail’s service.
Sir, SNH’s ill-considered programme to trap the free-living beavers in the Tay catchment area unfortunately owes more to politics than to sound science.
To state that “they are believed to be a non-indigenous species” is not true because there are no indigenous Scottish beavers and have not been since we killed off the last one 400 years ago.
What SNH mean is that the Tay beavers are almost certainly of Bavarian origin as opposed to the Norwegian ones used by SNH at their expensive £2 million reintroduction trial at Knapdale, Argyllshire.
Both are European beavers and, therefore, differences between them are not great.
The Tay beavers, which are free in every sense, have been established for a number of years, possibly as early as 2001.
They offer a wonderful opportunity for SNH to study and compare with their Knapdale trial.
However, they want to remove them instead. Many prominent scientists and conservationists oppose this plan, believing it to be immoral and possibly even illegal under the European Habitat Directive.
There is not sufficient accommodation for many beavers at Edinburgh Zoo and if there should be 20, or more, they would have to be killed off.
David Grant.2 Balintore Cottage,Kirriemuir.On skid row at Cupar storeSir, I agree with Ian Wheeler regarding the state of our roads and pavements and, in particular, the condition of supermarket car parks during the bad weather.
Prematurely congratulating myself on successfully negotiating the ice fields that masquerade as pavements, I finally became a victim in a supermarket car park in Cupar and I have been a patient/prisoner in my home ever since.
I called the supermarket duty manager to complain about the dangerous condition of the car park, emphasising I was not a member of the blame-and-claim culture and suggested to him he should arrange to have the car park cleared or close it. Finally and most sincerely, I would thank the lady who came to my assistance as I lay helpless in the car park and a near neighbour who helped me and my messages into my house.
R. H. L. Mulheron.28 Cowgate,Tayport.A resolute Scots anthemSir, Those of us who watched the television tribute to Kenneth McKellar can only have been impressed by his personality, manner and splendid voice. His rendition of Scotland the Brave was inspirational.
Isn’t it time we in Scotland adopted a worthy national anthem? The English have appropriated the British national anthem.
The Welsh and other nations sing from the heart and soul. New Zealand have the haka.
We in Scotland whine two verses of a modern ballad which may be pretty but is defeatist, sentimental and uninspiring.
Scotland the Brave is a great song and a traditional, stirring pipe tune. It is not aggressive but it evokes resolution and self confidence.
James D. G. Davidson.CoireCas,Station Road,Newtonmore.Coupar Angus grinds to a haltSir, With reference to your excellent article (January 11) I thank The Courier for listening to what the locals think. I am glad someone is taking notice.
I spoke to someone on the CART (Coupar Angus Restoration Trust) back in July when she asked us for support and our views on parking.
She replied that the parking was not being used by customers of shops.
This is absolute nonsense. My wife used to spend between £10 and £15 per week at Fred Stewart’s and also used the bakery now nothing.
My wife even now makes sure that she uses the chemist when she is in Blairgowrie when she is there as she cannot get stopped in Coupar Angus.
It is even difficult to get stopped at the butcher’s now. On top of all of this, the congestion on the main street is now terrible.
If someone tries to tell me that it was no better before the town was pedestrianised, then this will be the icing on the cake. Once again, someone needs to listen to locals.
I am quite happy to donate a grinder to help cut down those ridiculous bollards. Whoever thought that Coupar Angus could be turned into some kind of relaxing pedestrianised continental-type town?
Gordon Stark.General Manager,Greenvale AP,Springfield,Burrelton.Post workers underminedSir, I was surprised to read your editorial (January 7) in which you stated, “So hats off to Royal Mail for pulling out all the stops and seconding dozens of managers and staff from across the UK to the depot in a bid to clear the backlog.”
One is tempted to ask whether they are falling over each other or the bags of undelivered mail? One regular correspondent tells me a cheque he dispatched to me on December 13 has been cleared through his bank but one he sent (and not received by me) on December 8 is still outstanding.
My wife and I are usually invited to a friend’s open house between Christmas and New Year. We have still to receive the Christmas card which contained the invitation to the party which was to be held on Tuesday, December 28. I feel sorry for the posties as they are presumably bearing the brunt of the public’s anger at the management in the delivery office.
Our regular postman and the two others who are on the walk from time to time are very personable, building good relationships with their public.
I feel sure they must be extremely frustrated to see their good customer service undermined.
Ronald Goodfellow.6 Elmgrove Park,Monikie.
Get involved: to have your say on these or any other topics, email your letter to letters@thecourier.co.uk or send to Letters Editor, The Courier, 80 Kingsway East, Dundee DD4 8SL.