Don’t be a hypocrite about how meat gets to the plate
I HOPE the celebrities who criticised Larysa Switlyk, the American TV star who gets kicks out of killing goats (Mail) are all vegans or vegetarians. If not and they have bought meat from the local supermarket wrapped in cling film, they are hypocrites. Cattle, sheep, chickens and pigs are intensively reared to fill an everincreasing demand for food. They are slaughtered on an industrial scale, but we absolve our conscience by getting others to do the dirty work. I have worked in a slaughterhouse, so I know what happens to these animals. Let those celebrities decide which type of death is better for an animal: to have lived a natural, free-range, wild life and
Maternal anguish
I WAS surprised at Dr Max Pemberton’s comments on post-natal depression (Mail). It’s not just a matter of hormones, but can also be due to the fact your life has been turned upside-down.
Becoming a parent is an immense lifestyle change. You feel that your life will never be the same again.
You’ve only got to look at Bond star Daniel Craig’s exhausted face to see the effects of stress, exhaustion and lack of sleep.
I am a mother of three, and after the birth of my twin boys I had support from my husband, family and in-laws.
However, depression hit me months later. Living in a tworoom flat up two flights of stairs left me exhausted.
I’ve never forgotten waking each morning and feeling the day ahead was totally black. to die instantly from a bullet or to be bred in an unnatural manner and to undergo the trauma of being sent to an abattoir for slaughter. Wild goats and deer need to be controlled and culled, but they live a happy life and die a decent death before they are put to good use in the human food chain. I have stalked deer and pride myself on getting an accurate shot so the animal doesn’t suffer. It’s not about getting kicks, it’s about treating the quarry with respect. I butcher the carcass myself and it then goes in my freezer to feed my family. Those who buy a T-bone steak from the supermarket pretend to have nothing to do with the animal’s demise while hypocritically condemning Up to then, I’d had an interesting job in Westminster with frequent travel. I often felt I would have been happier going back to work.
I’m not proud of how I was as a young mother — volatile, negative and depressed.
It was supposed to be the happiest time of my life, so I couldn’t understand what was the matter.
Gradually, I began to enjoy life again. When my daughter was born a few years later, I was much better equipped to deal with the challenge of looking after a baby.
C. STIMSON, London SE27.
Now that was fun!
THE TV’s Funniest Moments pullouts (Mail) were utter joy. Good, simple humour and wordplay were what we called comedy. I despair that most of it would not be allowed now. CLIVE BIRCHFIELD,
Reading, Berks. people who hunt for their food in an ethical manner. COLIN BRUMMITT, Peterborough, Cambs. LARYSA SWITLYK should hang her head in shame. This is not sport. Why aren’t these beautiful animals protected in the wilderness?
JEAN MILES, Harlech, Gwynedd. I AM an animal lover, yet understand the necessity for controlled culls. However, the photos of a young woman posing proudly with her unwarranted and unnecessary kills fill me with revulsion.
L. GADSBY, Truro, Cornwall. IF THAT woman hunter really must demonstrate her skill, why not level the playing field and wrestle her prey?
STEVE REDWOOD, Burbage, Wilts.
Nelson’s history
I AGREE schools are failing to teach history (Letters). When my 15-year-old grandson asked where the National Gallery was, I told him it’s opposite Nelson’s Column.
He replied: ‘Oh, do you mean that Mandela fella?’ After I had finished laughing, I gave him a history lesson. MARGARET CATTAWAY,
Worthing, W. Sussex.