Letter: Bloody nuisance

BEN PIMLOTT should not make an aside such as describing hunting with hounds as "an innocuous pastime" ("Blair will not yet leave his mark on history", 5 September) without first thinking what it implies. For most people living in the countryside all forms of hunting are a nuisance both bloody and inefficient. Country dwellers as well as their urban cousins want it banned.

Whether or not the Prime Minister will leave his mark on history is for later ages to say, but what he does know is that John Major lost countless votes at the last general election because of his non-action over animal welfare in general and live animal exports in particular. Tony Blair injected ethics into his administration. The banning of hunting was one of the reasons many voters turned to New Labour. The overhaul of the vivisection industry was another.

ALAN WHITTAKER

East Grinstead, West Sussex