Discarded scraps of food spark concerns about rats and gulls
A POPULAR area of Seaford is becoming ‘unsightly’ because of scraps of food being left by a resident.
Crouch Gardens is used by both the young and old but the community group set up to promote the area is worried the latest incident may encourage scavenger behaviour in the public park.
Kate Parkinson, who got in touch with the Gazette on behalf of Friends of the Crouch, wrote, “It seems some well-intentioned person is leaving this, presumably for wildlife.
“The only wildlife likely to benefit are foxes, seagulls and possibly rats, and I’m not certain whether their digestive systems are designed to absorb pretzels.
“It’s not known who is leaving this food or why but it does look unsightly.
“I’m guessing it’s not desirable to encourage scavenger behaviour in a public park even though the motivation may be kind and thoughtful.”
The Crouch is owned by Seaford Town Council and is situated in East Street.
Trevor Weeks, founder of East Sussex and Wildlife Rescue and Ambulance Service said he feared that the actions of the person(s) could lead to someone else taking the matter into their own hands and putting down rat poison which could harm wildlife and animals.
Mr Weeks, who feels rats are given a bad press, added, “I think if people are just obviously dumping food anywhere it’s never a good thing anyway, especially in a public area.
“It can often have a knock-on effect.
“Foxes are good things to have in the area because they keep the mice and rat population down.
“People get frustrated by seagulls, by feeding wildlife it can anger other members of the community and it can lead to people taking matters into their own hands.
“If people want to feed wildlife they should do it in their own gardens and in a sensible manner.
“Pretzels have got salt on so are not wildlife friendly.”
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Weather for Eastbourne
Tuesday 21 May 2013
Today
Cloudy
Temperature: 9 C to 16 C
Wind Speed: 16 mph
Wind direction: North
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Temperature: 5 C to 14 C
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