I SHOULD like to put your readers' minds at rest over the protection afforded to robins and starlings following Justin Beament's recent letter (Courier, August 1). He is wrong to suggest we have changed the rules to allow destruction of nests "by anyone, at any time" and that this is intended to make life easier for developers or housebuilders. Birds such as robins and starlings, though not rare, are highly protected by law and will remain so. But the law has long permitted action to deal with the very exceptional circumstances where birds are posing a genuine health or safety risk. These instances are uncommon but need to be dealt with where they arise - for example, nests and birds have posed infection risks in food preparation facilities and hospital ventilation shafts, and affected the safe operation of railway signalling equipment. The licensing system has long enabled these exceptional cases to be dealt with legally through a licensing system, allowing nests and birds to be removed where they are causing problems of this type. Removing them for other purposes remains illegal, and we are proposing no change to that or to the extensive legal protection the birds already have. Our proposal is aimed at making rapid licensed intervention more straightforward in those rare cases where it is needed for health reasons. John Holmes Area Manager Devon Cornwall and Isles of Scilly Natural England By email