ANIMAL welfare groups have been accused of being silent over the selective cull of British cattle and therefore not caring about cruelty to animals.

Animal rights groups around the country have been extremely busy trying to speak out against animal suffering. Animal Aid has sent out over 1,000 letters and press releases to the national and local media, urging people to press for guaranteed welfare for the now-worthless cattle.

We have asked Agriculture Minister Douglas Hogg to reassure a concerned public that standards will not slip, and that the cull will be carried out in the most humane way possible - but it is Hogg himself who remains silent.

Farmers have lamented that their dairy cows will no longer be able to enjoy their well-deserved 'retirement' days. Who are they trying to kid - themselves or the public? The fate of dairy cows, once they no longer produce commercial quantities of milk, is to be turned into a beef burger or a pie.

Before the BSE furore, these cows and their calves were being slaughtered every day for their meat after a miserable, confined existence. Yet under profitable conditions, few seemed to mourn their loss.

Readers who are genuinely concerned about the welfare of cattle and other farm animals should write to us at Animal Aid.

BECKY SMITH, Campaigns Officer, Animal Aid, The Old Chapel, Bradford Street, Tonbridge, Kent.

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