Hear All Sides

FOOT-AND-MOUTH

I AGREE completely with the views of Sir Anthony Milbank and CIWF Director Joyce de Silva (Echo, Apr 17) on vaccination as opposed to the cruel mass slaughter of healthy as well as infected animals.

Time is already showing that the after-effects of disinfection, slaughtering, burning and burying, will not stop taking their toll on humans and the environment, long after the disease has gone. Meanwhile, the dreadful suffering of the farm animals goes on. Economics, and the politics of being seen to be acting, seem to be all that matters.

We are still in the Dark Ages, as far as compassion to animals is concerned, unless they are lucky enough to be born as pets. Since ancient times, when a country was in a mess, ritual animal slaughter and fires were the accepted way to appease the gods. Is "What the Romans did" still the best we can do, in this technological age?

The accepted practice of subjecting farm animals to horrifying journeys, jammed in trucks and trailed, often for days, around Britain, Europe and who knows where else, just to get a few extra pounds, is surely a disgrace to civilisation.

Vaccination was probably never seriously on the agenda, although it seems to many people the more sensible approach and other European countries find it satisfactory.

Sweden has now turned its farming around to more natural methods, treating animals as sentient creatures, rather than just commodities. Perhaps our country could do the same and some good could eventually come from this deeply distressing situation. However, so long as there is the constant traffic of animals between countries, how can we ever be sure that this crisis, disastrous for the whole country, will not happen again? - J Crow, Cotherstone.

FARMERS must have lots of friends in the media. Endlessly we hear of their plight and of course some are worse off than others, we rarely hear of their misdeeds.

However, farmers seem to have little sympathy for the misery they have caused to the tourist industry.

Believe me, the people who go to the Lakes and Dales are heartily sick of the restricted access to many areas. Some of the closed paths have never seen a sheep for many years, even car parks are closed.

I have spoken to many people walking the roads and none had much good to say about farmers. Let us not forget they started it, spread it and, in some instances, benefited from illegal acts.

The Government has bent over backwards to help farmers and all they get is constant criticism from this Tory arm of our country.

As in most walks of life there are good farmers and bad farmers, but there seems to be no doubt they have lost a lot of public goodwill. - Hugh Pender, Darlington.

BAIL HOSTEL

KEITH Norman, assistant chief officer Probation Service, County Durham, (HAS, Apr 30) persists with the same old propaganda and bland assurances he has been airing regarding a proposed bail hostel in Chester-le-Street, since the residents of Chester-le-Street dared to stand up to him and the Home Office.

He alludes to the amount of consultation by him and his department over the proposals. Let me put the record straight on that score. On October 4, 2000, 20 properties in the vicinity of the proposed hostel were informed by the local authority planning officer that a planning application had been received from the Durham County Probation Service for the proposed hostel. Included in this information was a propaganda package from the probation service.

It was not seen fit that anyone else living in Chester-le-Street be informed as we did not live close enough to be affected by the proposed hostel. The people of Chester-le-Street formed a protest group and were successful in convincing the planning officer and ultimately the local authority's councillors to vote the proposition out at a meeting of the planning committee on October 27, 2000.

The only attempt at consultation by Durham County Probation Service was three public meetings on October 23, October 31 and December 3, 2000. These meetings were cancelled by the Probation Service at very short notice and with the flimsiest of excuses. - WP Dinsdale, Chester-le-Street.

I READ with interest the letter from Mr Norman (HAS, Apr 30) concerning the Chester-le-Street bail hostel.

In his letter he boasts about his agency's public consultation. I find these statements incredible coming from an agency which cancelled its public meetings last year because they thought that too many people might turn up.

The Probation Service sent a pamphlet about bail hostels to a small number of households after they had already made a decision that they wanted to build a bail hostel to the rear of the civic centre. This cannot be considered consultation by any stretch of the imagination.

Early dialogue with communities is especially important with controversial developments. The Probation Service should withdraw this appeal and enter into a constructive dialogue with the wider population of County Durham about ways forward in caring for offenders in the area.

Solutions which are used in big cities are not necessarily the right ones for our neighbourhood or county. - Jim Greer, Chester-le-Street.

PENSIONERS

IT is a myth that Labour is kind to pensioners. Here is some more reality.

My mother is 90-years-old and lives in a residential care home. She did not receive the £200 winter fuel allowance and she does not watch TV, the free licence is useless to her. Her pension has just risen by £8.05 per week, but as her contribution to her accommodation costs has risen by £7.50 per week, she is now better off by the princely sum of 65p per week.

It really is about time that all the Labour apologists stopped treating the rest of us with contempt. Gordon Brown the best Chancellor ever? In your dreams. - J Watson, Washington.