Iconic species

By The Newsroom
Published 19th Mar 2010, 20:08 BST
Updated 19th Mar 2010, 20:13 BST
In your report about the benefits of wildlife tourism to the Scottish economy (18 March), you quote a spokesman for the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds as referring to "iconic species like the golden eagle and the osprey".

Why, in such statements, does the RSPB ignore the red grouse, which, unlike the two species mentioned, is unique to the British Isles and, I suspect, contributes more to the economy of Scotland than both combined?

Indeed, your whole report, apart from a general reference in the first paragraph, gives no credit to game shooting generally for the very substantial sum of money which it contributes to the Scottish economy.

MALCOLM STRANG STEEL

Leslie

Glenrothes