Trump rails against bird-loving, publicity-seeking Menie objectors

Published on Thursday 1 April 2010 22:46

DONALD Trump has claimed he was "a little bit surprised" by the criticism his plans to build a golf resort have attracted and has taken a swipe at opponents keen to protect birds on the site.

The American tycoon claims the course at Menie Estate north of Aberdeen will be up to staging the Open championship and is going to "blow everything away". But he said those against the project were a publicity-seeking minority.

"We're going to make the area environmentally better than it was before, so I was a little bit surprised by the reaction of some people," he said. "But, you have to understand, it was just a vocal minority speaking out against us … a group of people that just wanted to get publicity for themselves.

"They're certainly not environmentalists. If they were, they would have heard at the hearings that, environmentally speaking, the land is going to do better than ever once we have done what we are planning to do with it. As an example, some people that want to protect birds came out against it. So, I said to them: 'You want to protect birds? Right now, that land is a killing field. They shoot 25,000 birds per year over it.' I never heard from them again."

After winning a lengthy fight to get planning permission, work has started on the 1 billion project and Trump, speaking to Scottish golf magazine bunkered, believes the course is going to be something special.

"My Scottish course? I truly believe it will probably blow everything away. We have a very, very special place. Even the contractors, who have done many of the great courses, including Open courses, said they have never ever seen a piece of land like it."