Letters

PERHAPS it might be as well for folks to consider during this current debate on foxhunting whether the concern of Labour Party supporters is the product of envy, or desire for money to fight the next election.

In the last election the International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW) subscribed £1m to the election fund on condition that Labour put this foxhunting business in its programme.

Labour accepted the offer, but has been reluctant to put forward this request with pressure and urgency until it has come to the time to look around for funds to fight the next election.

I've no doubt that IFAW has reminded the Party that it is time it kept its promises. No doubt unless it does there will be no more financial support forthcoming.

I mentioned envy in my opening lines. Ordinary folks, of whom I am one, have always thought of the top hunting folks as the "elite". You know, the ones who have the breeding and style. Now I know that there are ordinary folk like farmers and country folk who are hunt supporters. They are the ones affected and know the problems of the subject.

My wife and I for years have been supporters of IFAW, but having learnt of its entry into politics, have ended our support.

The possibility of rabies coming from Europe and spreading among English foxes is not impossible. It is the question of control that needs a decision. - S Irving, Sunderland.

YOUR AnimalWatch article (Echo, July 11) reminded me that now and again you read in the newspapers of horrible, nasty youngsters inflicting unspeakable acts of cruelty on helpless wild creatures, domestic pets or farm animals.

I used to wonder what they would do to get their depraved kicks when they grew up. The answer is not only sufficiently devilish and evil but also legal. They simply go along to a meet where they are welcomed with open arms by like-minded types - the foxhunting fraternity.

In any sport certain items are essential for the participants to achieve maximum enjoyment. Just as a tennis player needs a racquet, a footballer his boots, so foxhunters need a fox. No problem there. They breed their own little reynards. However, not for them the natural freedom of the wild and open spaces with the occasional chicken snack or even rarer lamb lunch. They are bred to die as mere disposable sporting accessories.

But hush, they do not wish us to know or think of the implications of that. Tally ho! Off they go on horseback with a pack of ravening hounds trained to hunt down, terrorise and ultimately tear a small creature limb from limb. How sporting. How colourful. How sickening. - Wilf Hytton, Scarborough

BATTLE OF BRITAIN

'THE few who were not as few as all that' (Echo, July 1) - Winston Churchill must have turned in his grave. His words: "Never in the field of human conflict has so much been owed by so many to so few" was a salute from the nation to the relative handful of airman, the few.

Every English speaking man, woman and child understood the relevance of "the few".

To take the word few out of its context and make it a statistical measure of comparison between warring nations is deliberately to change recorded history.

There are many who still remember clearly that period in the Second World War, surviving airmen, especially, who will not approve of word laundering. _ WT Taylor, Middlesbrough.

FREEDOM

IT IS a pity Anne Widdecombe MP rejects Pope Paul's world-wide plea (Echo, July 1) for prison sentences to be reduced as a Jubilee 2000 gesture.

Setting prisoners free is a Christian duty and, seen in the context of reducing sentences, is a sensible balance between punishment and compassion. How many millions of us signed the petition to free the world's poorest nations from debt? When, too, are the poor of this nation of ours to be forgiven their debts?

The Government could make a start by reducing social fund loan repayments. While some may waste that generosity, how many more would progress? Like setting prisoners free, this positively answers the question: are we a caring and compassionate society? _ Councillor Tony Pelton, Catterick.

WAR GRAVES

YOUR item on Second Lieutenant Donald Bell VC (Echo, July 4) reminds me that in the tiny military cemetery at Contalmaison is the grave of Pte William Short VC of the Green Howards from Grangetown, who was the uncle of my first wife.

I have visited the cemetery several times. It is quite small and not immediately seen behind houses in the village.

As with all the War Graves Commission cemeteries, it is kept in immaculate condition. _ Dennis Brown, Stockton.

PUBLIC SERVICE

FROM time to time we hear of the passing away of some local government dignitary, this invariably accompanied with tributes to their long and devoted public service.

Yet, in truth most of them, once entering this domain, cling on to their status like limpets.

Am I being cynical or just realistic when I suggest that the opportunity of self interest rather than the greater public interest far too often appears to be their predominant motive?

Why, rather than the usual trumpet blowing, do we not have a regular feature in newspapers showing the amounts each and every individual councillor has claimed and received in attendance allowances and expenses?

We, the general public, have every right to be kept informed and most probably shocked at the same time. _ AW Dunn, Spennymoor.

MEMORIAL HOSPITAL

WHY do you only print the bad news about Darlington Memorial Hospital, and not mention the sheer hard work and successful recoveries that go on there?

I have just spent ten days in the Memorial and the care I received from the staff and doctors right down to the domestics was second to none.

I could not have been better looked after if I had been the Queen of England. The Memorial Hospital is a wonderful place and this town would be badly off without it. - Christine Percival, Darlington