SIR: I have read with interest the recent spate of letters that refer to people and animals, and their place in this world.

What they have all failed to say, is that every single animal on this earth is at the complete and utter mercy of us humans. If we wish to kill elephants, then we will do so, and there is nothing the poor animal can do to stop us. It is exactly the same for all animals, be they big, small, strong or weak.

We should therefore bear this onerous responsibility seriously, and treat them in the same way as we treat our loved ones. To kill a dog might seem as nothing to some people; but to kill a human would indeed be murder.

A man can defend himself, of course, but a dog cannot. If someone decides to kill it, then it cannot defend itself; it is at the mercy of that person utterly and completely.

To be callous about this subject brings shame on us all. So the next time you hear or read about beagles being forced to smoke, or monkeys being subjected to intense continuous pain, just to help the human race, think also of the animal race. Ask yourself what choice they have; and feel for the animal as you would your own species. What God-given right have we to do such things, just because we are more intelligent? None whatsoever. If we were truly more intelligent, we would realise the pain and slow deaths some of these animals go through, and we would STOP.

Mr Ray Brooker, Greenfield Road, Atherton.

Converted for the new archive on 14 July 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.