LETTER: The inglorious 12th of August

From Mr Les Ward

Sir: On Saturday, 12 August 1995, the annual massacre of tens of thousands of grouse will begin, together with the ridiculous obsession of some to get the first pathetic, lead-peppered corpse on to a restaurant table.

Throughout the year, other wildlife, which are seen as posing a threat to the grouse population, are systematically slaughtered. Legally, this involves the trapping, snaring and shooting of foxes, stoats, weasels and corvids such as crows and magpies. Illegally, this includes the poisoning, shooting and trapping of protected raptors such as buzzards, peregrine falcons, hen harriers and golden eagles.

The ritual of causing suffering and death to hundreds of thousands of grouse, the often illegal and callous slaughter of predatory birds and animals, and the contamination of an environment with lead, is totally unacceptable and must be brought to an end.

Yours faithfully,

Les Ward

Director

Advocates for Animals

Edinburgh

4 August