Initiation torment of ducks condemned
I was extremely upset on reading the article on the front page of the ODT (6.10.23) regarding a group of first year students being forced to bite the legs off live ducks as part of their flat initiation. This is an absolute disgrace and one wonders how these demented so-called human beings have found a place at Otago University.
They obviously do not have too many brains, and to think fees for first year’s study are covered by the government. I hope the SPCA can get their teeth into this lot.
Abhorrent. Shameful. Devastating. This is animal exploitation and cruelty at its worst. The perpetrators should face the full force of the law. Budding careers be damned.
Idiot students biting off the legs of live ducks is absolutely disgusting, and they need to be named and shamed for their actions. I can only imagine the terror that the duck was feeling. If this is the behaviour of some students they need to expelled from all universities forthwith and be held to account for their actions.
I do not condone what they have done and never will. If they were hunted for food and died instantly that is different, just like any animal that is hunted for its meat.
"Higher education" is obviously failing. Of all the antics that students create, these practices are very disturbing.
They certainly do not meet the universities "… development and wellbeing of individuals, society and the environment’. nor its Student Code of Conduct. One hopes it is a minority group of psychopaths carrying out these abuses.
I call on all of us to strongly oust and condemn this behaviour. These practices are definitely not OK.
Cancer screening
Congratulations to Elspeth MacLean on her excellent article concerning bowel cancer screening (ODT 4.10.23).
The glib promise by political party leaders to increase screening to reach those under 50 betrays their ignorance of what these promises imply. Besides a vastly increased number of multiple resources necessary to match the standards of bowel screening in the UK and Australia, it would take about a decade to achieve.
Over the last 20 years gastroenterologists and surgeons have campaigned for better training resources; they knew what was required. Politicians from the two major parties were unhelpful; Labour was sympathetic, but unable to provide the resources, and National simply said "We do not believe you". We now face the inevitable consequences.
Extending the availability of colonoscopy would not only provide an essential requirement of a full screening programme, but also improve management of many symptomatic patients presenting to our hospitals. Pathology and oncology services also need expansion.
Symptomatic patients under age 50 do not even qualify for colonoscopy in the public sector. Data provided by the Canterbury Charity Hospital show that many of these patients have cancers or pre-cancerous polyps. Can you imagine lifeguards pulling swimmers out of a rip and leaving behind those under 50?
Put aside party politics. Dedicate funding to what will save lives. Tax cuts won’t help.
A calamitous climate change coalition looms
The prospect of a National-Act New Zealand coalition government holds significant dangers for the climate future. The two parties have very different policies in this area. Act wants to close down the Climate Commission, repeal the Zero Carbon Act (which sets our emission reduction targets), allow oil and gas exploration, and scrap the 100% renewable electricity generation target. The only policy it has in common with National is the abolition of the clean car discount. Act considers mitigation (trying to reduce emissions) a waste of time and believes the focus should just be on building resilient infrastructure that can cope with climate change (presumably, no matter how high the temperature rises). If any of these policies are accepted by National, we can forget the Coalition of Chaos – this will be the Coalition of Climate Change Catastrophe.
WA is the way to go
Western Australia has banned commercial logging. Such common sense. Whereas Brazil is logging the Amazon rainforest like it's going out of fashion. It (and plankton) are the lungs of the world. 190 boilers in Southland.
Here in New Zealand the greenies want to change the 100 remaining Southland coal-fired boilers to wood-fired boilers, of which there are already 90 in Southland converted to wood or electric. A logger told me that he doesn't know where all these trees will come from. Nor do I.
Now, there are 63,000 trees in Southland. No doubt this number will shrink in years to come due to logging and chips for these Net Zero boilers. Perhaps we ought to follow the example of West Australia?
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