Hunting down Mr Mole

If you go down to the cemetery today you had better tread carefully because metal traps have been placed at strategic points to catch Mr Mole who has been condemned as public enemy No 1 and the hunt in now on to seek out and destroy.

It would therefore seem apparent that few of our town councillors appear to be familiar with one of the gems of English literature, The Wind in the Willows, which endeared the mole to generations of children and made the very thought of killing one abhorrent. The story which reflects a pastoral vision of England through the lives of anthropomorphised animals inhabiting the countryside and particularly the riverbank is a simple one with villains and heroes, told by Kenneth Grahame (1859-1932) as a bedtime story for his son and published in 1908 to find a place in the hearts of the nation, never having been out of print since.

Anyone who has read the book could never countenance the extermination of those animals which inhabit its pages, the mole being among the most engaging and lovable, loyal, trusting and always optimistic, yet were he alive today he would find Bourne Town Council an unsympathetic enemy bent on the annihilation of his species and in doing so will incur the wrath of generations of people of all ages who have found such delight in these pages.

In the 100 years that have passed since The Wind in the Willows first appeared, the mole has become the dreaded enemy of all those who administer grassy areas, whether a lawn in the back garden, the meadowland of a public park or, as in this case, the neat and tidy landscape of a town cemetery, because these animals live underground and regularly excavate new burrows, leaving piles of earth in their wake, which does not please those in charge of these open spaces which are rendered untidy in the process.

Moles are now making their presence felt at the cemetery in South Road and their underground activities have even been blamed for destroying graves and headstones (a likely story). The town council is suitably outraged and has purchased traps to kill them off. This does seem to be a desperate measure because no one wishes to see our little furry friends removed with such finality and perhaps councillors are making a mountain out of a molehill because there are plenty of alternative methods available today, particularly electronic and sonic devices which will do the job equally effectively without the need to slaughter our wildlife. It is not as if they are particularly widespread because the mole population has been estimated at a mere four per acre and so the problem in the cemetery cannot be as acute as has been suggested.

Killing them off may also be a bad idea because scientists suggest that no matter what is used, gas, poison or traps, the mole is here to stay and therefore battery or solar powered electronic repellents which are guaranteed to work are a far more advisable solution and can be obtained for as little as £20 each (including delivery). Half a dozen of them would therefore be a comparatively cheap alternative to a killing spree that may not be successful anyway.

Animal lovers everywhere will deplore this course of action and lament the fact that the town council does not have access to wise old Badger who would advise strongly against such drastic measures. Killing a living creature is demeaning and expediency is not always the best solution especially when it infringes morality. Those councillors who have endorsed this action should go away and read The Wind in the Willows because the appeal of this book is far too emotive to be ignored by even to most callous and hard-hearted. Some of them are also governors of the Bourne Abbey CE and Westfield County primary schools where the preservation of our flora and fauna is high on the curriculum and next time they find themselves in the classroom, perhaps they will explain to the children their decision to murder Mr Mole.

Note: Reproduced from entries in The Bourne Diary for
Saturday 1st November 2008 and Saturday 28th March 2009.

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