Ok, sorry guys, this is a bit of a vent & would appreciate if you respect me enough not to reproduce my comments on other blogs/websites... but...
I met up with an old friend today who I haven't seen for some time and, because of that, he had no idea that I had established the service and was helping wildlife. We talked about it quite in-depth and the subject of 'vermin' came up. Now, this isn't a new one on me - I've had plenty of people pulling faces when I've talked about helping "dirty" pigeons or "disease-infested rodents" & the new one seems to be seagulls.
This friend seemed to have a gripe about seagulls - he didn't like that there were so many in his seaside town of Aberystwyth, he didn't like that they tried to steal food from people, he didn't like that they were so noisy and because of the inconvenience they caused, he felt that they did not deserve rescuing and should be culled/left to die.
It wasn't quite how I saw the day going, but this made me furious - a seagull, as well as other vermin species (pigeons, rats, rabbits) are sentient beings and, just like us, feel pain and have an instinct to survive. It infuriates me that if another species adapts successfully to human ways then they are seen as vermin and must be destroyed. These animals have just as much right as humans to live and breed and eat and nest where they want to. Ok, I understand that rats in the home isn't ideal and I understand the need to have them removed, but why kill them? Why not have them removed humanely
Top and bottom - every animal deserves to live - why should humans have the monopoly on the world?
This has led me to think about offering a humane pest control service (e.g. setting traps and taking the animal and releasing it elsewhere e.g. in a nature reserve) however, i'm not going to go into this with my eyes shut - i'm more than aware that this could unbalance eco-systems in other areas so I plan on researching this vastly before I advertise this service. I'm not a killer and I disagree with culling, even if it is to protect public health.
Apologies if the content of this blog has offended, it is my personal view and I'm in no way suggesting others should feel the same.
Watch this space guys