I HAVE just read with great sadness of the crisis concerning the peacocks in Museum Gardens (February 24). It seems every time I open the Press, something wonderful about York is under threat - long-standing family businesses, the daffodils by Clifford's Tower, and now the poor peacocks.

Every year of my life I have visited friends and family in York, remembering a time in the 1960s when peacocks outnumbered humans as I ate sandwiches with my parents in the Museum Gardens. At long last, I have become a resident of this gorgeous city and value its attractions as much as non-residents. I love the bustle that tourists bring to York, but maybe it was the quiet of the gardens that the peacocks needed - especially as the peahen and chick left of their own accord.

Perhaps, as with most wildlife these days, the time has come when intervention is needed to maintain and protect the existence of these beautiful birds.

Could not a sheltered area of the Museum Gardens, together with food, be provided for the peacocks? I would gladly volunteer to help tend them if the cost of employing someone were prohibitive.

Ms Fiona Petrou,

Main Street,

Heslington,

York.

...I have been a frequent visitor to York for more than 20 years. My first trip was in 1980 when I was an international exchange student at St. John's College. I frequently visited Museum Gardens to read books or just take walks and always loved the peacocks.

I now bring my family to the gardens and my children, aged six and eight, always think of York when they see a peacock. This is a wonderful treasure you have in your city. Please make an effort to stop the decline of these beautiful birds. York and the museum gardens would not be the same without them.

The Beisel family,

The United States.

Updated: 12:16 Monday, February 26, 2001