Baffled by attacks on swans and hedgehogs in Yorkshire: Letters

What a beautiful “Picture of the Day” in your paper of the swan and cygnets in the park in Wakefield (The Yorkshire Post, July 25).

It was such a contrast to a recent one that was shown of smashed swan eggs in Shipley near the Leeds-Liverpool canal.

Why would anyone want to do this? What have they achieved?

It is like the two recent killings of hedgehogs by youngsters in Castleford and Wakefield.

They were fortunate to see hedgehogs as they are mostly nocturnal. But why would you want to trample on them anyway?

In the second incident one of these “children’ was a girl.

I was sickened when I read about these two episodes.

We were brought up to love animals and it would never have occurred to us to harm them.

However, turning to page 35 on July 25’s paper, I was pleased to read about young Michael Bottomley doing all manner of things to raise money for charity.

I recollect reading previously of efforts by young people to raise money for various causes, so perhaps all is not lost for that generation.