I was delighted to see the centre spread of this newspaper entirely covered with photos of the goose Gogo and its owner and friend, Ivan Mizzi.

I am sure he will be pleased to know that, after tests at Cambridge University, it resulted that birds and, therefore, Gogo are as intelligent as seven-year-old children.

I have always maintained that birds are our friends and that in a hunter-free atmosphere they could give us, our children and our tourists lots of pleasure.

This is what I experience in Corfu. Swans swim to the bay where I water ski. They take my wet bread from my hand without ever biting me in the process as can be seen from the photo.

In the evening, thousands of bee eaters and other birds cover the sky over Corfu town and swifts annually make their nest on top of the balcony where I normally stay every August. They swoop into the swimming pool to wet their wings while I am swimming.

Birds are our friends.

If anyone had a good friend would they like to see him shot? So why are our hunters killing our birds and depriving us of their company?

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