David Wingate's complaints have also raised the whole question of feral animals in Bermuda.

We understand that any number of people are concerned about the welfare of the "critters'' and very often feed them, much to the annoyance of their neighbours who find them a nuisance. But the truth is that feral ducks, chickens and pigeons are basically farm animals which have no real place in residential areas of a heavily developed place like Bermuda.

Pigeons which spread disease are a clear danger in a Country where people get their drinking water from the roof of their house. There was a time when the public understood that and generally tried to keep pigeons to the very minimum. Perhaps faster lifestyles have led people not to pay much attention to these details today. However pigeons are still a threat to health.

There are a great many people who cannot understand why there are so many chickens around and about Bermuda being a nuisance. They are a problem in both private gardens and in farmers' gardens, and a general nuisance in residential areas. One writer of a letter to the Editor was annoyed at the early hour a rooster in her neighbourhood starts crowing.

We know of one landlord who tried to respond to a tenant's complaints about chickens and set off to her home with a trap. There he found his tenant happily feeding the chickens she had complained about.

Now it seems that ducks are also becoming neighbourhood problems, largely for those who live on the water. They are incredibly messy even though there are people who find them attractive on their own waterfronts. Ducks are great trespassers and they love other people's swimming pools. They do not make for friendly neighbourhood relations and their numbers seem to be growing. Feral cats are another and quite different problem. They make great house pets but in the wild they are a very different matter. Clearly they are a danger to the fragile bird population and can be a general nuisance. Whether the project to catch them up and neuter them will work is yet to be proven but in the meantime the public seems split over the benefits of the programme and the wisdom of feeding stations.

It is difficult to believe that in a place the size of Bermuda we cannot contain what used to be known as strays. We live in crowded conditions on a small island and generally people do not want to have anything in their lives which are a nuisance. There is a place for everything but it comes down to respect for neighbours and neighbourhoods and the rights of people not to be bothered.

We see pigeons, chickens and ducks as a problem for the Department of Agriculture to solve. Right now the problem is growing and nothing seems to be done. We are not suggesting cruelty to animals but we are suggesting control of pests.