SIR - In his letter of August 21, John Shearon again attacks hunting but admits knowing nothing about it. He then describes hunting people as bigots.

Being under the impression that a bigot is someone who holds an intolerant or unreasonable view on a subject they know nothing about makes me wonder just who the bigots are in this case.

The Government is never going to revisit the Hunting Act as it is a total mess with which it no longer wishes to be tainted. The Act is so low on the list of priorities that it fails to appear on the national policing plan.

So far, the only person to be found guilty under the Hunting Act was fined, not for cruelty to a fox or for killing a fox, but rather

for not killing a fox.

More than 700 hours of Parliamentary time have been wasted on the Act by this Government and MPs like Michael Foster. After all this effort, we now find a terrier is guilty if it kills a large mouse but not so if it kills a small rat.

Legislation like this makes the Mad Hatter's tea party look like a sane organised function compared with this Government's antics.

JON BURGESS,

Malvern.