IT SEEMS there are some people who would be perfectly happy to cull all wildlife, be it foxes, badgers, seagulls or whatever.

We are privileged in this country to have a wealth of wildlife species living among us, and we ought to be looking towards nurturing such wildlife instead of destroying it.

The latest to be in the firing line are seagulls, graceful, proud birds which add sheer delight to the panorama of Brighton and Hove and other seaside resorts.

They are referred to as vermin – rather ironically by mankind, which is probably the most verminous species on the planet.

The bottom line is, if you don’t like seagulls, don’t live on or near the coast.

The seagulls were around long before we were. They are not vicious.

There may be odd instances where they are perceived to be so, but you don’t condemn a whole species because of a few rogue attacks.

Because a minority of humans murder, rob, rape, do we then say that the whole of humanity should be culled?

Man has over-fished the seagulls’ natural food supply, so they have to be more resourceful in their search for food.

Man has encroached on to their natural living habitat by building closer and closer to the shore, so they have to move further inland.

We can learn from the seagulls in the way they care for and seek to protect their young.

There are quite a few parents who could benefit from emulating these parenting skills, rather than ill-treating their children, feeding them an unsuitable diet, allowing them to show complete disrespect for society, etc.

We should be prepared to tolerate and adjust to the vagaries of the natural world, in the same way the natural world tolerates and adjusts to mankind’s vagaries.

David Gibbons, The Deneway, Brighton