IF Mr David Stocker (I think it should be 'Shocker') of the Countryside Alliance is so convinced that fox hunting is not cruel, why does he not set up a propaganda programme to promote other forms of hunting? Why not have an organisation of brightly-dressed aristocrats, including some of the Royal Family, to hunt down neighbours' noisy dogs or cats which soil others' gardens?

But if he is really convinced that there is no cruelty involved, why does he not get a gang of gorillas to chase his son or daughter, young or old, and, when they catch up, to grab a leg or an arm, or the neck or the back, and bite sufficiently coarsely to rip the person apart? -- in his opinion, quite gently and painlessly.

Of course, when his teams of gorillas get a bit past their best, he can terminate their peaceful lives, so they do not become an unnecessary expense.

Fred Sharples

Lee Bank

Westhoughton