Friston Forest in East Sussex is a uniquely beautiful, peaceful place enjoyed by many people, dogs, horses and wildlife. The forest is managed carefully by Forestry England.

Since December 2019 the peace of this lovely natural space has been shattered by local farmer(s) using gas guns to scare birds from dawn to dusk , 7 days a week, with explosive bangs echoing up the valley.  Remorselessly. We are now nearly at the end of February and there is still no respite. The farmer(s) - possibly completely unaware of the misery they are causing - have also contravened several of the NFU guidelines for the use of these antisocial devices, including using them on Sundays, with no baffles. Have they tried other methods? Apparently many other methods work - including recordings of predatory birds, even scarecrows! And the NFU advice is to vary methods so the birds don't wise up. Surely seeds have germinated by now anyway.

It has become impossible for many people to walk in Friston Forest. It is not a restful experience any more, many dogs are traumatised (it is widely known that about 20% of dogs cannot handle loud noises), some horses cannot tolerate the endless bangs and their owners can no longer hack in Friston.

Whilst we respect farmers' needs to protect their crops from birds, isn't it time that the farmer(s) local to Friston Forest respected the needs of people to enjoy Friston Forest in peace, without fear of dogs and horses bolting. Especially since the farmer(s) have plenty of other options open to them. Gas guns for a couple of weeks, no problem. Gas guns for months on end - noise pollution.