Firstly thank you for printing my letter 27 May. However, I am writing to complain about the above article written by one of the papers writers.
Firstly it is incorrect, unproven bunkum, untrue and blatantly biased. Is it not the duty of any newspaper to print facts, in this case ignored!
Swans are vegetarian, I would suggest when grazing they inadvertently gather tiny amounts of baby flounder.
Sea grass depletion is due to run off as in printed research on Fish & Game's own website, the swan droppings I would suggest, if anything are beneficial to sea grass and other plants, again F&G printed research to this effect.
WBOP have as yet no research stating the swans droppings are polluting the harbour.
Some Asian countries have ducks and geese over fish farms, where the fish actually thrive on the droppings.
To make light (in the words of the daleks!) of a very contentious subject is unprofessional and immature.
To use the newspaper to scare and bleat on in heartless manner only helps perpetuate the large amount of hard nosed, uncaring people in New Zealand.
The greatness of a country and it's moral progress can be judged by the way it's animals are treated. I would suggest taking the kids to feed the ducks and swans and then next day daddy goes and blasts them from the sky, confuses and sends the totally wrong message as to where New Zealand should be when it comes to animal welfare.
Phil McKernon, Katikati.