YOUR VIEWS: Scottish forestry grants just lining wealthy pockets

Last week’s Strathy exposed yet again the disaster being inflicted on the Cairngorms National Park by corporate interests from far away places who pay little attention to local advice and good practice.

BrewDog’s unnecessary fencing, ground cultivation and planting of their Kinrara estate has to be compared to Seafield and Strathspey Estate land which is adjacent to Kinrara.

As reported in the Strathy, this traditional estate was highly commended in the recent Scottish Game Fair awards for their achievement in reducing deer numbers from roughly 40 per sq km to 3-4 over a three year period and then maintained this population level over the last 15 years.

The consequential reduction in grazing pressure has resulted in large tracts of naturally regenerating woodland and a stable capercaillie population.

Why cannot BrewDog learn from their next door neighbours and adopt the same policy on Kinrara?

A recent Sunday Times expose (30 June) claimed that, of the 500,000 trees that BrewDog have planted at least 250,000 have died. And BrewDog are not alone. Along with Muckrach Estate near Grantown, owned by corporate interests in Birmingham and the Far Ralia estate near Newtonmore, owned by the investment companies abdrn/Standard Life, these three estates are receiving in excess of £6million of Scottish Forestry grant payments for planting schemes which are completely unnecessary for delivering carbon sequestration and biodiversity recovery.

Simply stopping burning and increasing deer culling, using local stalkers, would be sufficient to secure these environmental aims at far less cost to the public purse.

In his recent letter to the Strathy, Ruaridh Ormiston decried these three estates for ‘some really big mistakes’ and the role of such investors in trying to cash in our natural assts while ignoring the interests of local people.

He called for a new approach, seizing the opportunity of forthcoming new financial incentives to deliver for nature and climate, while getting round a big table and finding outcomes that work for all sides.

I agree, but we must start by scrapping the current Scottish Forestry grant support for upland forestry.

Its main purpose is to line the pockets of people in far away places and encourage them to damage our natural and cultural heritage.

Dave Morris

Newtonmore.

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Cashing in on the name Badenoch

The front runner to be the new umpteenth leader of the Titanic Tories rejoices in the surname ‘Badenoch’.

Is this an opportunity for a local computer whiz to put a link into the political website?

The objective, to encourage an alternative sector of tourist trade most commonly associated with shooting grouse. We are a tolerant welcoming community, and tourist income is welcome

Gregor Rimell

Newtonmore.

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Some wise words for our new MPs

I would like to congratulate all the new MPs on winning their seat. I have two pieces of advice for them to have a successful career.

Number one, if they make a mistake they should never admit to that mistake. Instead they should double down and make another mistake.

Number two, if the public ever finds out that they've made a mistake all an MP has to do is say “Lessons have been learned”.

Geoff Moore

Alness.

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‘Onto good thing’

There are 650 very happy people in the country.

Well wouldn't you be if you were suddenly in receipt of between £91,346 and £164,080 a year guaranteed for five years?

In real life most of our MPs would never be able to earn anywhere near such sums. Then of course they pay into the best pension scheme in the UK paid for by taxpayers.

If after five years they are not re-elected or decide to retire then the severance pay, which is tax-free, is 50 per cent of their current salary.

Why should there be severance pay since surely the job contract with the public is only for five years?

MPs who have held office for a continuous period of at least two years also get a loss of office payment (LOOP) which is twice the statutory redundancy that ordinary mortals get.

MPs employ on average four full-time equivalent staff members also on far better than average salaries.

No wonder so many people are clamoring to get on the Political Gravy Train.

Clark Cross

Linlithgow.

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The scenery in strath is really quite exquisite...

In view of the ever increasing tourist numbers and associated problems I have, again, put pen to paper with my poem ‘ The tourist season's here’.

Now is the time to brace ourselves,

The tourist season's here,

Guests approaching in their masses,

It's such a busy time of year.

Tourism is quite essential,

It brings in much needed money,

But where folks stay can be a problem,

In this land of milk and honey.

With arts and crafts aplenty,

And many places you can visit,

No wonder it's so popular,

As the scenery's quite exquisite.

Most visitors are well behaved,

Observing the country code,

They are polite to everyone they meet,

And take care on Highland roads.

But regretfully there are a few,

Who's behaviour is out of line

Alas a few entitled motorhomers,

Their numbers rising all the time.

Consideration is not given,

To the locations where they stay,

Village centres, passing places,

Or down by the River Spey.

Some leave their litter everywhere,

Empty loos where they should not,

If challenged can be rather rude,

Appearing not to care a jot.

Wild campers can cause problems,

When they don't understand the rules,

Sometimes they leave a lot of mess,

And light fires to cook their food.

When they don't take sufficient care,

There's a risk of conflagration,

And large areas can go up in flames,

Causing chaos and devastation.

Dogs are often not controlled,

Owners wish them to have fun,

Chasing birds and livestock,

Farmers tempted to get their guns.

With so many visitors coming,

How can the Highlands cope?

I hear rangers are to be reinstated,

To help protect the local folk.

Many good and decent visitors,

Can't find a parking place,

There are far too many searching,

We need to utilise more space.

Facebook has increased the problems,

So many secret spots are shown.

Of course people want to visit,

And numbers have really grown.

Tourist authorities have oversold,

Visitors facilities are insufficient,

We're needing more investment,

For it to run well and be efficient.

With too few public toilets,

And those there are, so often trashed,

For people desperate for a loo,

Their hopes are often dashed.

We all must remain cheerful,

Even if it's misty and no sun,

The weather's wet and miserable,

Midges waiting to fill their tums.

Scotland's absolutely wonderful,

Something proud locals love to share,

So smile and treat them with respect.

Because we're so lucky to be here.

Barbie Miller

Grantown.

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Finding homes for cats

With kitten season now in full swing across the UK, I would like to say a huge thank you to players of People’s Postcode Lottery for helping us look after kittens and cats in need.

Last year we saw a 14 per cent increase in unwanted litters coming into our care.

This summer and beyond, we anticipate hundreds of kittens needing to be looked after by our expert teams. We work hard to be there for every cat that needs us.

For mother cats and kittens, this includes extra food to keep cats’ energy levels high after giving birth as well as regular veterinary check-ups for mum and her litter.

Our teams also hand-feed newborn kittens if the mother isn’t producing enough milk.

This is why we are so grateful to players of People’s Postcode Lottery for raising more than £9.9 million to support the work of Cats Protection since 2018.

Together we are making a better life for cats, because life is better with cats.Anyone wishing to adopt a cat or support Cats Protection, or seeking advice on cat welfare, can find out more at cats.org.uk

John May

Chief Executive

Cats Protection.

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