Letters

I WAS sad to read about the impending closure of Dressers (Echo, Jan 16) but it stirred up many happy memories.

I worked there, as a young girl, in the old shop on High Row, Darlington, between 1964 and 1966 and made many friends. I was in charge of all the greetings cards, which had to be sorted and priced. In the same department we sold the stationery and pens. Printed wedding invitations could also be ordered.

I worked there with Miss Hird (Katherine), who lived near Cleasby, and Miss Tumbull (Christine) who had a twin who worked at Binns.

Mr Smart sold the fountain pens and Mrs King was manageress of the Toy Department. I remember buying a garden swing from there for my niece and nephew which was also used by my own children.

It was good to see the photograph of Mr Warrand - he's not changed since my Dresser days! Goodbye Dressers. You will be sadly missed. - S Wharton (Miss Wilson), Spondon, Derby.

SNARES

WE had a beautiful grey cat, which we loved very much. A neighbour brought our pet back to us after he had found her in a snare in his garden very badly injured.

We took her to the vets, but she died from her injuries the next day after so much suffering.

We were deeply upset. She was so dearly loved.

These dreadful snares should be abolished without delay. My cat had dragged the snare some yards before she collapsed in the neighbour's garden where his cat and mine played together. - Mrs E Sowerby, Darlington.

SNARES are barbaric instruments of torture, a way of trapping animals you would imagine in the Stone Age, not in the year 2001.

Phil Drabble (One Man and His Dog) wrote a book called No Badgers in My Wood over 20 years ago, in which he said he had an implacable hatred of snares - nothing has changed.

We are told these barbaric traps work 24 hours a day. Imagine the pain, suffering, torture and stress to any animal that may encounter them.

Anything and everything gets caught in snares. Some poor creatures walk around with the snare attached to them, like the deer caught by the leg. The snare had grown into the bone and turned gangrenous. This animal was also dragging with it the log to which the snare was attached.

The public should be made aware of these cruel traps. Many think snares are already banned. - Brenda Ellwood, Bishop Auckland.

CONGRATULATIONS on bringing the brutal reality of snares to the attention of your readers (Echo, Feb 13).

Overwhelming evidence shows the indiscriminate nature of these archaic traps. While gamekeepers may set them for foxes and stoats, they can trap any animal that moves; badgers, otters, rabbits and deer, even domestic animals.

Animal Aid has recently highlighted the horrific impact of snares as part of our investigation into the rearing and shooting of pheasants in Britain. The time has come to relegate these sadistic devices to the history books. - Yvonne Taylor, Campaign Co-ordinator, Animal Aid, Tonbridge, Kent.

IRAQ

THERE'S a new boy in the White House so, just to show he's tough, the poor Iraqi people get it in the neck again.

Needless to say, our own Prime Minister feels he has to suck up to Bush.

The Iraqi people have enough to put up with already, with sanctions, bombs and Saddam Hussein. The effect of this appalling policy has only been effectively to stifle opposition and keep Hussein in power. We hear a lot about putting war criminals on trial for genocide, so it is high time we packed Tony Blair off to the Hague. Ethical foreign policy? What a laugh. - Carl Watson, Darlington.

ARIEL SHARON

THE people of Israel have sunk to a new low in their choice of Prime Minister.

Ariel Sharon was heavily implicated in the massacre of thousands of Arabs in the refugee camps in Lebanon.

This is a man who should be tried for crimes against humanity, yet rules the roost in the Middle East, supported, of course, by the arch hypocrites, the US. - Hugh Pender, Darlington.

EATING OWT

I WISH to write in support of Eating Owt. Since Mr Amos's writing is infinitely more interesting on any subject than Mr Ruck's (HAS, Feb 21), give him more space I say. - Harry Watson, Darlington.

TRANSPORTER BRIDGE

YOU stated that Middlesbrough Transporter Bridge is the only working example of its kind in the world (Echo, Feb 14).

A transporter bridge in Bilbao, northern Spain, is also in working order. It is permanently in use and rarely breaks down. It links the densely-populated areas of Getxo and Portugalete. This bridge is older than the one in Middlesbrough as it was built in 1893. - M Crank, Billingham.

FOX HUNTING

I WOULD like to correct some of the statements made by A Mitchell in his letter on fox hunting (HAS, Feb 28).

He told us that "Hitler was a vegan". A vegan is someone who does not eat, wear, or otherwise use, any animal products.

Hitler could have been described as being a "vegetarian of sorts", as he a adopted a mainly vegetarian diet for health reasons. He had no qualms about wearing animal products, as pictures of him wearing a leather greatcoat confirm.

I have never before heard anyone claim that Hitler "banned hunting with hounds". It would have really peeved his pal Goering who is known to have been a keen hunter.

Finally, Mr Mitchell tries to equate those who oppose fox hunting with extreme animal rights organisations. While it obviously true that the Animal Liberation Front is opposed to hunting with hounds, the opinion polls would suggest that the majority of all people in the UK are also opposed to it, along with moderate animal welfare organisations such as the RSPCA. - D Catleugh, Newton Aycliffe.