SIR – Councillor Alan Amos hits the cliché button once again and calls for ‘vicious flying rats’ to be exterminated and talks about ‘bleeding heart liberals’.

Yes, here we go again. Bla-bla-bla… hey, just watch those votes come pouring in.

Could we please, please start to have an intelligent conversation about gulls – or is that beyond the scope of our elected representatives?

The reason why these birds are here in such numbers is because homo sapiens has pillaged and polluted the seas, their environment.

That’s why they are turning up in ever-increasing numbers in ‘ours’.

Mankind is not only the most destructive species this planet has ever known, but also the most wasteful.

Countless tons of food waste ends up in landfill and on our streets, all of which attracts these creatures.

Gulls are scavengers. There is nothing we can do to change that. And yes, I’ve also been dive-bombed by them when absent-mindedly holding food.

But more fool me – I should have been more careful.

This is not the first time that Worcester councillors have hysterically played to the electoral gallery.

My advice to them – and similarly minded local politicians hoping to score a few cheap votes – is to start to devise policies that will humanely ease the problem.

A start could be made by legislating to force fast food outlets to clear up their own mess, whether generated by them or their customers.

Supermarkets, too. And all of us should start to take responsibility for ourselves by recycling, composting and taking our rubbish home.

What we don’t need is for people who should – but tragically don’t – know better than to call for culls of bird species, some of which are actually numerically in decline.

John Phillpott

Worcester