I read in The Sunday Times (August 5) a classic example of Federation for Hunting and Conservation president Joe Perici Calascione’s contradictory nonsense when he was reported to have said that he was not going to say Birdlife had illegally shot two cuckoos “to make us look bad” and then added “because I could easily say that”.

Was it Birdlife – and I assume he refers to me and all other people who are members of Birdlife – who shot the swans in front of the beach full of locals and tourists? Was it us who massacred the Honey Buzzards?

Can Mr Calascione tell us how many Birdlife members have been convicted of doing such things?

Birdlife members do not own guns, we have no use for them, and I think I speak for all of us when I say we feel such sorrow seeing harmless and beautiful creatures destroyed for fun or greed. We could never bring ourselves to do such things, not even to make hunters look bad.

Besides, it is totally unnecessary as they do that all by themselves.

Having said all that, I can understand Mr Calascione, saying what he “didn’t say”.

After all it’s very difficult to find an intelligent reason to explain a ‘passion’ for killing birds.