I read Margaret Randall's letter about sparing a thought for animals (August 25). Animals always get my sympathy, no matter what - foot and mouth, BSE, hunting, Shambo the bull.

We do treat animals abysmally and we, the human race, should be ashamed. Didn't Ghandi once say that a nation is judged by the way it treats its animals? If that's the case, then we have failed the test.

I have two sayings I like: "The more I see my fellow man, the more I love my dog," and, "If there are no animals in heaven, then when I die, I want to go where they all went."

And yes, like Margaret Randall, I am a vegetarian and proud of it!

  • Dennis Dey, Manor Avenue, Hassocks