24/09/04

I was there for the vote. I hunt, shoot and fish but I also work in shipping and earn less than £10,000 a year.

The majority of people who oppose the ban do so for many reasons, but mainly because Tony Blair made a promise to his backbenchers - not to his country - to ban hunting.

My father became a gamekeeper after he lost his job as a miner when the pits closed.

The pro-hunt supporters outside the Commons did not attack the police. The police attacked the crowds: have you ever seen a granny being smashed in the face with a truncheon just because she walked passed a policeman? It's not a nice sight.

As E Reynolds points out, foxes are killed quickly with poison and snares but anything - cat, dog, rabbit, badger - in the wrong place at the wrong time also gets killed. Is this better for our wildlife?

Lastly, hunts are having their annual "newcomers" week, first week in October, for anyone who wants to see what really happens. Details available from Countryside Alliance website. - Christine Bell, Consett.

ON numerous occasions I hear the pro-hunting lobby remind us that Lord Burns, in his report, recommended a scheme of regulation for hunting (true).

They then claim that the Government rejected this and took no further action (untrue). No mention that the unelected House of Lords threw it out. - D Gascoyne, Darlington.

REGARDING MPs missing the hunting debates in the Commons, I'm sure I saw the very entertaining Tory MP Boris Johnson on the Richard and Judy television show on the same day and time as the debate.

Like many of his fellow MPs, Boris would make a half-decent stand-up comedian. But an MP? Surely not.

I wonder how much he was paid to be on Richard and Judy? - J Camsell, East Stanley.

THE letter (HAS, Sept 20) about how would a dog feel if a fox was chasing it was very childish. As a former farm-hand, I have seen foxes destroy new-born lambs and hens and chickens.

What about the 26,000 foxhounds that are going to be destroyed because they are no good as pets? What about the horses as well?

These people want to live in the real world and not sit in big offices in the middle of big cities. - B Alderson, Crook.

WHAT will happen to all the dogs from the hunt?

And people who say just rich people do it, should take a look around as loads of working class people go foxhunting.

Some people should look before they talk about foxhunting.

And also, I thought Britain had freedom of speech. - D Atkinson, South Hetton.

GT Riley says (HAS, Sept 20): "No decent, law-abiding person in their right mind can have one shred of support for these arrogant, self-opinionated people."

He might well be describing this Government.

Tony Blair is only interested in upholding the rights of minorities of which he approves or which are likely to vote for him. That is why he plans to abuse the draconian power of the Parliament Act to impose a ban on hunting which will destroy rural businesses, throw thousands out of work and lead to the wholesale slaughter of hounds.

It is interesting that the only other time Mr Blair has used the Act was to force through a law allowing 16-year-old schoolchildren to be sodomised, - a minority activity which enjoys considerably less public support than foxhunting.

Who in their right mind votes for these people? - M Kilvington, Richmond.

MAKE-UP

FOLLOWING Mrs J Stasiak's comments on women's use of make-up (HAS, Sept 16), I am female and deplore the use of it. I think it is highly hypocritical.

As for today's women wanting to "have it all", some people are never satisfied, are they?

It has been said you only need a smile to look good. - A Johnson, Darlington.

ROYAL MAIL

I POSTED a parcel to Whitby on September 13 for a birthday present and it had not been delivered by September 18.

Royal Mail told me it was not 'lost' until after 15 days. It cost £3.45 postage.

The Royal Mail chief executive Adam Crozier says he has got it 99 per cent right. I think he is 100 per cent wrong. - William Bellwood, Darlington.

RICHARD NEALE INQUIRY

I WOULD like to thank all the ladies who were courageous and brave enough to tackle Northallerton gynaecologist Richard Neale, and to take on the National Health Service and the General Medical Council and who fought for years to make it safer for women to undergo surgery with confidence.

Thanks to The Northern Echo for its support - without the publicity the task would have been more difficult.

The introduction on November 1 of the vetting of doctors from abroad should ensure that these tragedies do not happen again. That does not put right the injuries or the pain the ladies will suffer for the rest of their lives. - Maud Holdstock, Scotton Village.

FLIGHT OF BIRDS

ALTHOUGH I am an archaeologist, I spent most of my life in aviation duties and I get sick of listening to so-called experts talking about birds flying in V formations so that the leader does most of the work. This is absolute rubbish.

As every pilot and controller knows, aircraft leave dangerous vortices behind them. Therefore, birds take up a V formation to stop them losing control due to the wake of the one ahead. - Raymond Selkirk, The Northern Archaeology Group, Chester-le-Street.

ABSENT COUNCILLOR

AS a serving district councillor, I was appalled to learn that a member of Wear Valley District Council, Coun Stephen Gregory, intended to serve the electorate in his Bishop Auckland ward from the Dominican Republic in the Caribbean.

I would find this situation impossible and would feel it necessary to resign.

The rule that as long as a councillor attends council at least once every six months is ludicrous.

A councillor has many demands on his time, and some councillors spend more time on their work than others. But I have many people contacting me - anti-social behaviour, planning issues, housing etc - and I visit areas week in and week out, and I couldn't do it if I was 8,000 miles away.

A councillor needs to be available at most times of the day, each day not once every six months. The rules on this matter must change. - Vince Perkins, Bishop Auckland.