ANNE CAME, of Summerhill Crescent, Ipplepen, writes:

I was interested to watch the protests, marches, flag-waving etc about the proposed ban on wild camping.

My concern is that the vast majority of the crowd / mob have no conception of the impact that camping has on wild animals in the moor.

Leaving aside the awful fly camping – that should never be tolerated on any part of the moor, how many campers carry a trowel, or large spoon to bury faeces or used toilet paper? Toilet paper, used or not, is NOT biodegradable in the short term.

How many campers pitch their tent on nice grassy patch, not realising that is the FOOD for the ponies, cattle and deer on the moor? I would not like to eat anything that humans, and probably their dogs had lived on for some time.

Walkers and ramblers are different, as they are transitory, there for a short period, then gone. The animals are used to them, moorland animals are not spooked by things they see regularly.

Tents are different. With or without occupants tents are alien to the moor and will stop animals accessing the part of that moor where they are pitched.

This is particularly important when there is a dry spell such as last summer when there was a drought.

A friend reported a small stream in a sheltered valley that had several tents pitched along the sides. The cattle and ponies in that part of the moor could not get to the water. Thoughtless.

Rules:

1. Carry a trowel for burying faeces

2. Do not camp on track obviously used as access to water and grassland

3. Try and put yourself in the mind of the animals of the moor and don’t worry them. While you might be using their home for your own therapy, remember they don’t have access to counsellors. Respect them.