SIR – I am sorry to read that Maurice Brett (Letters, February 10) finds my contribution to the hunting debate in the Worcester News “something of a nightmare”.
I have met Mr Brett on occasion and found him to be both affable and willing to discuss hunting in a thoughtful and constructive manner. So it was something of a surprise to learn Mr Brett now relies solely on a discredited opinion poll to support his demand for hunting ban.
The poll mentioned appeared late last year having been commissioned by three anti-hunting organisations (IFAW, LACS and the RSPCA) from Ipsos Mori. Mr Brett misquotes and cleverly cherry-picks from the text to suit his own agenda. The central question of the poll made an implicit comparison between legitimate hunting and the despicable activities of dog fighting and badger baiting. Full details of how the poll was conducted were only discovered after a direct order from the British Polling Council, the industry’s own watchdog. The Hunting Act and this poll are discredited – now is the time to dump them both in the dustbin of history.
JON BURGESS
Malvern
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