Sir - I was surprised to see an earlier letter from Jon Burgess reprinted on 5th September. It was rubbish the first time round and has not improved with age.

We were asking sheep farmers to sign a petition to stop the live export of their animals, not demonstrating against sheep farming. There is quite a difference between asking farmers to sign a petition and attacking them.

Live exports from this country have nothing to do with being in the EU apart from our government using EU membership as an excuse to carry on with them while also ignoring EU higher welfare requirements.

Many animals for export have been injured or killed before even embarking on these totally unnecessary and invariably torturous journeys, because the lorries taking them to port often get caught up in traffic which can add hours to the journey here, and because the ports are not geared up for dealing with live animals.

There are no good reasons for sending live animals for export. We should export on the hook, not on the hoof. It should be realised that jobs are lost in this country through the sending of live animals to other countries, and perhaps it is no coincidence that sheep rustling is reaching epidemic proportions.

Roberta Balfour

Malvern