Sir – Gordon Rennie’s excellent article in the farming pages (March 30) summarises the usual mixture of government and EU regulations imposed upon our farming industry.
Late Common Agricultural Payments to farmers some still waiting puts the cream on the bun.
In the same issue, a St Andrews University spin-off company relating to the genetic modification of farmed salmon has raised equity funding.
This does not present a problem here for the Scottish Government, it would seem.
Obviously it is easier to tramp across a field of GM crops wearing protest overalls, than it is to splash across a fish farm in Shetland.
If GM is good for fish to be consumed by humans then it is good for crops.
Like Gordon, I am aware that horse meat is consumed quite widely across Europe and the rest of the world.
The reaction to horse meat in our prepacked food and meals was over the top though understandable, because of ignorance.
It seems that feeding us is not an important function.
An election cometh.
A T Geddie. 68 Carleton Avenue, Glenrothes.
Beavers good for the environment
Sir, – We were interested to read Jenny Hjul’s take on the issue of the reintroduction of beavers in her column this week.
At the National Trust for Scotland an independent conservation charity and not a quango as described in the piece we do support the reintroduction of beavers.
This is not for the sake of nostalgia as suggested by Ms Hjul, but rather for the abundant ecological benefits they bring to Scotland’s waterways and countryside.
Beavers are a keystone species and have been shown to play an important role in strategic flood management, enhancing wetland processes and improving water quality as well as benefiting wildlife such as amphibians and aquatic insects.
However, we do have to realise that sometimes beavers might not be the best neighbours.
That’s why we’re asking for a national mitigation plan that addresses the legitimate concerns of landowners, salmon fishery managers and other interest groups, including farmers.
Despite these challenges, we remain confident that bringing back beavers is the right decision for Scotland’s countryside and we urge the Scottish Government to make a final ruling on the matter as soon as possible, after the Scottish Parliamentary elections.
Dr Richard Luxmoore. National Trust for Scotland, 5 Cultins Road, Edinburgh.
Moulding minds like Saddam
Sir, – Morag Riding is correct in being concerned with the SNP’s “school election campaign pack” (March 30).
Regrettably, it is only to be expected from a nationalist mindset that seamlessly melds with the idea of moulding young minds to their
ideology whenever the opportunity arises.
Their named person legislation appears to complement the drive to extend their propaganda in schools with the obvious desire for the state to intrude unnecessarily into the private lives of families.
History is littered with examples of authoritarian regimes controlling their populations through their children.
A most recent example is that of Saddam Hussein who developed an extensive youth programme, with children being invited to meet their leader.
The children were enrolled at the age of five into Ashbal Saddam or Saddam’s Lion Cubs.
The failure of parents to enrol their children to the programme was, of course, dangerous.
The most devious thing about this programme was that the children became unwitting spies by being told to report any comment that was not favourable to Saddam or his regime.
Of course, it would be wrong to compare Ms Sturgeon and those who support her, with the likes of Saddam Hussein.
However, I can understand the profound disquiet that many people like Mrs Riding genuinely have when they see all the indications that state control is being used in active pursuit of an ideological goal using the young and impressionable as a means.
A named state guardian for every child, inviting every school to send pupils to “meet their leader” and the vigorous drive to disseminate party propaganda within schools doesn’t sit easy in a liberal democracy where we prize our children’s privacy, their freedom and the right to be protected from unsolicited and biased information.
We must guard against this and Mrs Riding can rest assured she’s made a good start.
Iain G Richmond. Guildy House, Monikie.
It’s time to give business a vote
Sir, – It is indeed sad to see yet another business closing down in a city centre.
The biggest single cause for the demise of stores such as McEwens of Perth is having to contend with business rates, which are staggering in town centres.
Business rates are not related to profit it is a tax that must be paid regardless of profitability.
It is also taxation without representation, since business does not have a vote.
This should be corrected by introducing a right to vote for businesses, perhaps the number of votes each business has could be related to the rateable value of the property.
Peter McCormack. Grangeside, Errol.
Pulling together to end dogma
Sir, – The leaders’ debates show each of them pulling in different directions, each trying to satisfy a trivial agenda, while what actually needs to be done is being ignored.
This confrontational style of politics is a luxury we can no longer afford in today’s dangerous world.
We need to pull together in the face of domestic and international problems that are simply being ignored.
The time for party dogma is over.
Malcolm Parkin. Gamekeepers Road. Kinnesswood, Kinross.
Scotland needs more than wind
Sir, – Closing our last coal-fired power station is like chucking the engine over the side and relying on the wind to get us home. It is totally stupid.
Nobody with an inch of sense would do this. As for Scotland’s carbon footprint, what we produce hardly counts.
Our politicians are not big on problem solving, but surely they should have seen that the power produced by the last coal-fired power station in Scotland was not covered by a reliable alternative in Scotland.
It seems they have put all their eggs in the wind basket.
In France they have a tidal power station, and it has been a great success.
What have our lot been putting our money in?
Wave power that has not been a success so far and wind that looks more like a milking operation for subsidies.
If an operation needs subsidised it is a no-goer.
It is time we looked at a tidal power station built across the Forth narrows.
Just what are our universities doing?
They could build a computer model.
Have they all retreated from doing the work required and are now concentrating just on academic studies?
John George Phimister. 63 St Clair Street, Kirkcaldy.
Medics mend, not politicians
Sir, – Jack Harley suggests politicians should set about fixing the NHS (March 30).
In my opinion he has got this the wrong way round political interference in medical matters has created many of the problems that exist.
Targets do not make people well.
It is the dedicated work of doctors, nurses and ancillary workers who help people recover from their illness.
AA Bullions. 6 Glencairn Crescent, Leven.
Taking control of HGV traffic
Sir, – Now that the new rail container depot at Blackford has been authorised, the residents of that village need to adopt a plan that is more than simply objections to its construction.
May I suggest they press for improvements to the junction between the A9 and B8081 roads at the north end of the village.
This would enable all HGV traffic to and from the Highland Spring plant, as well as the new rail depot, to miss the village completely.
A weight limit could then be placed on the B8081 through the village ensuring the new road connection’s use.
George Boyle. Vice-presidentRailfuture, Furness Vale, Derbyshire.
Scrap Britain’s emissions targets
Sir, – The demise of our heavy industries, including steel, is the long-predicted result of the decision by the British political class to give the utmost priority to reducing CO2 emissions.
British Secretaries of State for Energy used to be tasked with ensuring that supplies of energy were reliable and that costs were kept as low as possible for both citizens and business.
Then another disastrous New Labour innovation saw Ed Miliband became the first Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, resulting in the Climate Change Act of 2008.
Its insane target of an 80% CO2 reduction meant electricity prices for UK firms were soon twice the EU average and far higher than the shale-powered US or coal-fired Far East.
Welsh aluminium smelting immediately collapsed to be followed by the rest of our heavy industry in what history will judge the real catastrophe of the global-warming delusion.
Dr John Cameron. 10 Howard Place, St Andrews.