HOW very refreshing to read the letter from Peter Telfer about people's rights and animal welfare.

If only Jon Burgess would stop his vitriolic tirade against Miss Knittel and apply himself to the basic question of who is to take responsibility for the livestock of this country.

The farmers quite obviously have shown that their main concern is profit at all costs. Their bad practices of transporting animals long distances for slaughter have now been exposed, with the spreading of foot-and-mouth being much worse than it should have been.

The BSE catastrophe was kept secret for far too long. The fact is that animals, be they wild or domesticated, cannot be treated and traded like inanimate commodities. Mr Burgess may not agree, but they do have feelings.

It is the business of farmers to breed and ultimately slaughter animals. Since they are seemingly unable to do the job with compassion, it falls to the general public to fight for better conditions and lobby on the animals behalf, and also use any tactics available. Vegetarianism alone will not solve this dilemma.

HELEN SMART, Worcester.