Letter: Drug treatments denied to psychiatric patients in the community

Sir: In hailing as a hero the ill human being who scaled the lions' enclosure (letter, 2 January), Jan Morris mocks the tragedy of schizophrenia from which this man suffers, and demonstrates how shallow are fashionable myths about zoos.

Those Asiatic lions, the lions of the Bible, are not in London Zoo 'purely for show'. If they were not there, they would be dead. There are fewer than 300 in the world; 30 years ago there were fewer still. That there are more now is due to breeding programmes led by London Zoo.

The zoo lets them be seen by the public for two reasons. One, to finance their own care and help continuing conservation, study, and return-to-the-wild programmes for their own and other species. Two, for education, in the hope that some of the millions of children who see them will grow up to understand and help - maybe take part in - the serious zoology and animal care in which London Zoo leads the world and from which animals, present and future, benefit. And also grow up to discard ignorant myth-making which benefits no animal - or human being.

Yours,

RUTH PADEL

London, NW3

2 January