I SEE Ms E. Edyvean and the anonymous Reynard Stag (Your Letters, July 7) take exception to my calling for tolerance and understanding for the hunting community.

It is interesting and equally disconcerting that their letters are sprinkled with comments that are neither tolerant nor understanding, but are misleading.

The proposed Bill is to ban all hunting with dogs, not just fox-hunting, which will mean that someone such as I, who does not hunt foxes, will not be able to use my dogs to hunt rabbits, hares, squirrels or even rats.

Reynard Stag may argue about the rights of animals; I would argue that animals do not have rights, but that we have a duty of care to maintain and look after them. However, if animals do have rights, what about the rights of hounds, lurchers and terriers who would be denied the right to hunt as their ancestors have done before and their instincts still tell them to do now. The banning of hunting will be an act of ethnic cleansing in its purest form. Ethnic cleansing is the suppression of a racial or ethnic group and a recent House of Lords and European Court of Human Rights judgement defined an ethnic group as "a group that is regarded by itself and others as a distinct community by virtue of certain characteristics".

The hunting community displays all the characteristics mentioned in the judgement.

It seems that throughout history there have had to be minorities for politicians to attack; they divert attention from political failings. Hitler had the Jews and the gypsies and there have been attacks on immigrants and religious sects.

Now, in a "politically correct" world, there are only huntsmen and smokers left to hate and Labour is eagerly joining the ranks of political bullies and ethnic cleansers in doing just that.

The question to be asked is: if hunting is banned, what or who is next to be singled out for "politically correct" cleansing?

A. J. H. PILKINGTON,

Lancashire County chairman,

Countryside Alliance.