Michele Hanson (Anglers versus Cormorants? I’m all for the birds, 13 August) sweepingly accuses the nation’s 3 million anglers of having “fat bums” and wanting to eliminate all other wildlife in rivers. Angling is a pastime that is enjoyed by people of all shapes and sizes from age 3 to 103. It also generates £3.5bn for the UK economy and is beneficial for health and wellbeing, including those recovering from breast cancer and post-traumatic stress disorder.
Anglers have probably done more than anyone to restore wildlife in rivers by investing in projects to restore damaged habitats, reporting pollution and contributing £25m each year in rod licences to the Environment Agency. It’s true the Angling Trust is campaigning to reduce the red tape in getting a licence to control cormorants, which are damaging fish stocks on many rivers, but we do not want to rid our waterways of these birds. We are also campaigning and taking civil legal action to improve flows, water quality and habitat for the benefit of all aquatic wildlife. If it weren’t for anglers, most of our rivers would still be open sewers with no wildlife for Ms Hanson to admire as she walks her dog.
Mark Lloyd
Chief executive, Angling Trust
• If we want to ensure the Olympic Games delivers the physical activity legacy promised, the answer is simple: persuade as many people as possible to walk at least 30 minutes a day, five days a week, wherever they live or work. No velodrome, stadium or swimming pool needs building. Around two-thirds of the population are overweight and need more exercise. That’s a lot of people to get out walking. And if more incentive is needed, the 2014 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow is just round the corner.
Dave Morris
Director, Ramblers Scotland
• Jacques Rogge, president of the International Olympics Committee, invited young athletes to Rio in four years. Why not old athletes, too? Much of the £2bn cost of our proposed social care cap could be avoided if older people treated serious physical exercise like food and drink ie a vital part of their daily routine. But the Olympics, the most influential global force for motivating sporting activity, gives no encouragement to older people to take part. There are no medals for veterans or super vets, in contrast to many sporting events in this country at least.
There have been Youth Olympic Games since 2010, so why not games for the 60+, 70+ and 80+ age groups? We would all derive inspiration from what they could achieve, with global benefits for what is now an enormous global problem.
Tom Canham
Hereford
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