Shoot out

My comments regarding the blinkered views and practices of the game-shooting industry are still as relevant today as they were then, despite Mr Winn-Darley’s attempts to de-bunk them as “common misunderstandings”.

Despite some successes in species-recovery within the North Yorks National Park, it comes as no surprise that the “shooters” take credit for these gains.

On the other hand they also quite often suffer “withdrawal symptoms” of ignorance and denial whenever a “rogue” gamekeeper “accidentally” (or maliciously) destroys a bird of prey and/or its eggs etc in some quest for a narrow game.

In conclusion, my interpretation of bio-diversity goes beyond the moorland associations, practices and species-specific worldview.

H Griffiths, Pickering

• George Winn Darley, of the Moorland Association, tries to spread some common misunderstandings, (Gazette & Herald, April 29).

Birds such as the lapwing, plover and ring ouzel, as well as our smallest raptor, the merlin, do not thrive on grouse moors because of grouse shooting and the fact that gamekeepers attempt to wipe out anything that might harm a grouse.

No, they thrive because they are not a threat to grouse.

If they were, they would be illegally slaughtered – just like the 100-plus, birds of prey shot, poisoned and trapped in North Yorkshire over the past decade.

Recently Michael Wood, the chairman of the Game Farmers Federation no less, was convicted of allowing illegal traps to be set, with the intention of killing birds of prey.

Is there any wonder that members of the public don’t trust the legality of traps they discover and take it upon themselves to free anything caught in them?

Tommy Woodward, Pickering