I do find myself agreeing with your letter writer last week in regards to dog fouling.

If I was to urinate or defecate in the street I would rightly be arrested. Why then are dogs allowed to do this? Should not the owners be arrested? I can already hear the cry ‘it’s only a bad minority’, well I am sorry, the filth and stench is all over the town – is this caused by a minority?

Why do some people have this perverse attachment to animals? Can they not form healthy relationships with themselves and others? A vet friend of mine once told me that there was nothing wrong with a high percentage of the animals that came through his door, the problem was with the owners.

Toddlers and children can become blind from toxocariasis through dog faeces.

Infectious diseases such as E.coli, salmonella, psittacosis and fungal infections are brought about by gull droppings. Plus the fear and anxiety they cause and damage to property.

Animals and birds seem to have a higher priority than people.We only have to look close by to Somerset when £31,000,000 was spent on a nature reserve but people’s homes and lives were devastated through lack of investment in dredging the rivers.

The Environment Agency is now advising councils to not allow any dogs on the beaches during summer but we can look forward to them running wild on Jacob’s ladder beach per usual this summer. Let’s be honest the falcon hovering around for a few days will not deter gulls from nesting – this is the council having to be seen to be addressing the gull issue rather than a more effective course of action. Of course the animal and bird agencies have a vested interest in defending their position over the health and wellbeing of human beings.

The standard answer from the council is we do not have the powers or we do not have the money.

The council cannot prevent this unhealthy attachment people have with animals above the care and health of the human species. But, have they not a duty of care towards the people they state they represent? It must only be a matter of time before a child or adult is seriously unwell if not killed from faeces or bird attack.

A lady in Edinburgh was attacked and hurt by a gull and is now suing her council. If she wins this could open the flood gates for more litigation towards councils. I feel that this is the only thing that will make them listen. Something they will even hear in their ivory tower from the SkyPark.

A Concerned Citizen