Page 6 - Phonebox Magazine January 2010

HAVE YOUR SAY
Letters
Dear Editor
In response to a letter published in your December issue I would like to take this opportunity to reply.
The letter in question is from J.B. Olney regarding the “gunning down” of wild birds near Emberton country park.
Firstly J.B. of Olney ... welcome to the countryside. Having lived and worked in the country all my life I read your letter in amazement.
Firstly you enjoy Emberton Country Park, as we all do. We get to stroll around and see the wild life. Do you realise if it wasn’t for the
“blood thirsty hunters” there would be very little wildlife to speak of. When they are not “satisfying their blood lust” they are busy creating habitats to benefit great numbers of different species of wildlife as well as areas to benefit their chosen quarry. Many hours are spent feeding areas to supplement these wild birds in harsh weather to ensure they overwinter successfully and go on to breed next season. A great deal of money is also invested to protect these wild birds from dangers of predators etc.
In your letter you say “there is no good reason in this day and age to gun down any bird born in the wild for food”. Where have you been for the last five years? All the hype about sourcing local food which is free range or organic. Not to mention food miles and carbon footprint. If I shoot a duck by the river it travels the grand total of half a mile
where it is prepared and eaten by a very grateful family. How’s that for locally sourced, organic, free range meat which is delicious. Or I could get in my car, drive 15 miles to a supermarket, trawl the shelves of pre-packed intensively reared meat (which could have come from anywhere in the world) then drive the 15 miles back.
You also seem to think a hunter is just shooting birds to satisfy some sort of blood lust. I can tell you that no hunter wants to see any animal wounded. The quarry is respected and treated with the utmost care to ensure there is no suffering of any animal. This is why hunters have well trained gun dogs such as spaniels and labradors to retrieve shot birds. These dog breeds, you may note, are now very popular with dog walkers and families as pets.
So in all you may not like it but you have more to thank hunters for than you thought.
Carry on enjoying Country parks and other areas and trust that landowners, farmers and hunters alike will ensure there will always be wildlife in abundance.
A Gunn, Ransen Dear Editor
An estimated seven thousand people packed the streets for Olney's “Dickens of a Christmas".
The Mayor of Olney, Mike Hughes, who led the oganisation of the event, said: "Once again people showed their support for Dickens, and everything has gone to plan. New visitors told me they were blown away that there's such an amazing event right here in Olney."
Luckily, the rain on the morning of the event passed and it was one of the mildest Dickens days for a number of years.
There were lots of stalls in the Market Place and the Farmers Market relocated for the day to the Knoll with visitors being dropped off by the ever popular Pony and Trap. The indoor craft fayres at The Bull, Olney Centre and Carlton House Club also proved popular.
A new addition this year was the Fountains Court reindeer, who were a hit with the children. There was also the street entertainment such as the Great Gappo, a Victorian Stilt walker as well as Santa's grotto.
Members of the Dickens committee and Olney Town Council were out in force - in their finest Dickensian dress. Special guests on the day included The Mayor of Milton Keynes, the High Sheriff of Buckingham, and the Deputy Lord Lieutenant.
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6 Phonebox Magazine
Olney Town Council
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