Our Beautiful Penny is still searching for Popeye, she has taken three 2 day trips with the cygnets along the coast searching in vain. Yesterday I was delighted to see her return with the cygnets, they are looking good and Penny had the first good meal from me for some time. With the sun shining on the family, it was a joy to see them again.
The Petition has been going for 2 days and already nearly 600 signatures, I am humbled by all the support and nice comments.
Penny and the cygnets coming up the river and the Suns rays over them, reminded me of "the Sun shines on the righteous ". I think our cause is righteous, and hope that everyone supports it by clicking here and signing the petition.
6 comments:
The trouble that you will have with this petition is that it doesn't really reflect on how Nairn locals feel about this.
Putting this on a biased petition site distorts the view.
If someone was to present me a petition where 75% of the signatures were not from local folk, I'd pretty much ignore it.
I'm not opposed to what you are proposing, but tbh, I can't see why you have an issue with water sports like kayaking on the river.
This is a sport enjoyed by many and is practised on most rivers in the UK.
Is this a view held by all the trust members?
Were they consulted before the petition and it's contents were posted?
Hi Anon, I have to disagree with your assessment about Nairn locals, all the feedback I ever get about the river and the wildlife is always how great it is to have them here, and what a boost to the tourism of the Town. I have never heard anyone praise the kayaks or canoes, in fact I get the opposite view that they disturb and chase the wildlife away ! The reason I have the petition on a global site is quite simple that Nairn is a tourist location like it or not, people come from all over the place to enjoy it. Many as you will probably notice have been here before and come on a regular basis, they do not come to see a kayak scare the wildlife away ! In addition the internet is something even all the Nairn locals have access to, and I think when the petition comes to a close you will find that Nairn locals will be well represented. I also have paper petitions distributed around the Town for those who don't use the internet.
Last Sunday I got a typical example of what happens, when 2 people came up the river as I was feeding the birds. They were each standing up in a canoe with 10 foot poles pushing their way up 9 inches of water. It was farcical and only resulted in them chasing all the birds away. They persisted in rattling their boats and poles up the trickle of water only to reach the roadbridge and then turn around back down to harbour. The net result for the half hour of their enjoyment, was to deprive hundreds of other folk the pleasure of seeing the wildlife on what was a beautiful sunny day, so they stopped the birds from feeding and locals and tourists from enjoying their day ! Sadly human activity messing about on water, be it kayaks , canoes , paddle boards are all terrifying to water wildlife. Water birds natural home is on water, it is their environment they should have priority over human water sport activity. The Trust is there to act on their behalf and speak for them. The boating fraternity speak for themselves and not for the population of Nairn.
"The net result for the half hour of their enjoyment, was to deprive hundreds of other folk the pleasure of seeing the wildlife" That's a bit dramatic is it not?
They are just duck's, no one comes to Nairn just to see the duck's.
If you truly believe that then your head is with the birds too!
So, if you were not feeding the birds, gathering them into 1 location, would the kayak's have been as disruptive?
One could say that the act of habitual mass feeding and encouraging over population is more harmful to the natural order of the river than a couple of kayak's going past.
The fact is that the river is for all to use, it is not some personal menagerie, the birds were there when it was a busy fishing port and the will still be there whatever goes on.
Anon, I'm afraid your statement shows your lack of knowledge and understanding about people, the river, and wildlife. Ducks, Swans and other water birds are living species just like you and I, they deserve consideration. The Planet is not here to be plundered and used solely for humans,there are millions of other living species besides us. Birds had conquered the land sea and air before we crawled out of a swamp!
Just the kind of non-answer I was expecting when questioning your actions.
So a couple of folk kayaking up the river are "plundering"?
Were they Vikings per chance?
Your response shows your narrow minded view of the world, you think Nairn tourism revolves round the birdlife in the river, but it's the river walks that get the footfall not the birdies.
And the birdies will be there regardless of kayakers and any other water sports.
I'm also fairly sure that any holiday makers would be equally entertained by hapless kayakers making a fool of themselves trying to go up river.
Anon, you've had your 3 strikes so am afraid your now out. We will just have to disagree on what we think is best for Nairn , the people , the wildlife and the river.
Post a Comment