Slyvia Harwood states that we were always thought to be a nation of animal lovers, but no more in the light of the Government permitting wild boar hunting (The Argus, February 22).
We have never been a nation of animal lovers. We have been a nation of pet lovers which is very different. Creatures we regard as companion animals we love and adore.
The companion animal food industry has become big business in recent years. The market is currently dominated by international corporations. Those we use for food and clothing we couldn't care less about. A good example of this is the pig which is as intelligent as the dog but look how differently we treat them.
More than 200 million laying hens are confined to battery cages in the EU. Much of the earth's arable land is now being used to grow feed crops for intensively farmed animals rather than for people.
Placing animal products at the centre of food policy greatly diminishes the possibility of feeding the world's human population.
The Government's annual statistics reveal that more than 2.8 million animals suffer and die in British laboratories in experiments.
Footage taken inside British dairy farms by Animal Aid exposes a shocking new development in the industry - the arrival of the almost permanently confined "battery cow". Under this ultra-intensive regime many of the cows are kept inside sheds all year-round.
A nation of animal lovers, I don't think so.
- David Hammond
North Court
Hassocks
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