Susan Dawe, of Teignmouth, writes:

What motivated the apparently thoughtless anti-social woman who threw her unwanted large turkey carcass on to Teignmouth promenade on Friday morning?

She shot off too rapidly to apprehend and question.

Did she misguidedly imagine this dis-service to the public would do the bird population a favour? Or, as the beach and promenade were busy with dog-walkers, did she intend serious harm to a dog?

Scenting a feast, my dog raced off the beach to seize the deadly carcass. Crunching and gorging as he ran, he evaded capture. By the time I caught up with him, much of the carcass was gone and he was in no mood to give up the remaining deadly jagged bones.

So far, my husband and I have had three disturbed nights, coping with our pet's diarrhoea and painful attempts to evacuate his bowels. Sharp fragments of bone can tear through stomach and intestines and kill. As they can remain in the gut to pose a risk for some considerable time, we expect – at best – to remain worried for weeks. At worst, our pet could face major surgery or death.

We would ask everyone to stop throwing food on the ground. It is anti-social and attracts vermin. Whatever the motivation, human food waste is unsuitable and even toxic for birds and dogs. Take home your disposable barbecues: the metal grilles are razor sharp.

Last year I was ashamed to hear a visiting dog-walker leave our beach in disgust, saying: 'This is not a beach. It is a dog-buffet.' We should report offenders who leave litter.

Offending dog-walkers are rightly vilified and fined for dog-fouling. Let's take the same approach for food-waste litter-bugs.

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