REFERRING to Joyce Moss's letter on animal welfare. Good work Joyce for raising awareness of these hidden backward steps away from improved animal welfare. I am a supporter of Compassion in World Farming, as well as other charities which campaign against animal cruelty of all types. Even I was unaware of these stealthy and detrimental moves backwards so I am sure others were too.

It is difficult enough to make progress against bad practices as there are always so many other issues competing for compassionate people, but those of us who care will want to know what is happening so that something can be done about it. I am sure that each of us can help in small ways.

We should all lobby our MPs about animal cruelty in whatever form it takes so that they are aware that we all have opinions and are not ignorant or apathetic and not prepared to allow the government to railroad changes through without our agreement.

Secondly we should never buy products that have been produced in the wrong way. Meat and poultry should be free range or organic in order that good farming practices are encouraged. It isn't good enough to resist this on the ground of price because in this country there is plenty of good food available at a reasonable price and we do not have to eat meat or poultry every day, nor buy food to waste or to eat more than is healthy. Avoiding supermarket products which have been tested on animals is another way of resisting bad and cruel practices. Most of the supermarket's own brands are no longer tested on animals, read the back of the pack or ask the question so the supermarkets know we are questioning buyers who will not put up with cruelty.

But awareness of what is happening is the best way to stay involved in making improvements to the lives of these creatures who share the planet. They are not commodities for our use or benefit and because we are all-powerful over most other creatures in the world does not mean that we should abuse them, any more than we should abuse each other. There are loads of people who work hard at raising money for charities and spreading the word about how to improve things but it is an upward struggle as Joyce's letter has shown.

I hope the effort you have made to bring these matters to our attention, Joyce, will make a difference. Sometimes on dark bad days it seems nothing will change and as the human population continues to grow it seems that animal welfare issues slip further down the agenda. In this country we should be setting an example for the rest of the world to copy. If we are going backwards that is disastrous and not setting an example to other countries. We were once known as Great Britain – perhaps we can be that again but for compassionate reasons this time. Those of us who care should make sure we do not give up and that we do our best to improve the lives of animals in whatever way we can.

– Patricia Hodgkinson, Upper Common, Aylburton.