AT this time of year, the hunters always rev up their activities. I have never understood why their minds link the season of goodwill to all men with chasing and killing birds and mammals for fun.

The thing that the hunters and shooters all seem to miss is that the general public just see them as history.

The bloodsports lobby is a combination of 'wannabes' willing to pay the price to get alongside the hunting and shooting set, and sad souls who want to go on killing for fun.

For hunters, the fact that 75 per cent of the population supports the ban on fox hunting is just an inconvenience. They remain quite determined to change the law and turn the clock back to legitimised cruelty to animals for sport.

It irks them that public opinion is against them and that hunting wild mammals with dogs has become a criminal activity.

It's a great shame that in a modern society we require legislation to protect our wildlife from those who still enjoy the primitive act of chasing and killing an animal for sport. But sadly we do, which is why the Hunting Act came into being.

Despite reports to the contrary, the legislation has proved itself to be robust, there have been 29 successful prosecutions since its inception and more cases are pending.

Mrs Kathy Moyle

Collins Park, East Budleigh

(by post)