Letter: Why angling is off the hook as a cruel sport

Sir: J. A. Charman (letter, 29 December) likens fishing to foxhunting and wonders why the League Against Cruel Sports does not campaign against the former. Quite simply, the average angler partakes in the activity either to eat the catch or replace the fish, as in coarse fishing.

Compare this with hunting, in which the fox is likely to be chased to an underground refuge, dug out over a period possibly lasting hours and finally shot, or clubbed to death with a spade. Most normal people will see a vast difference. They will also recognise a rather desperate attempt by the foxhunting fraternity to justify their so-called sport.

A far more relevant question, in my view, relates to the digging out of foxes using terriers and the illegal act of digging out badgers in the same manner. Why is one perfectly acceptable to the hunting fraternity and the other not?

Yours faithfully,

JAMES BARRINGTON

Executive Director

League Against Cruel Sports

London, SE1

29 December

(Photographs omitted)