Letters to the Editor

SIR - Referring to your articles 'Dog owner left pet to suffer' (T&A, May 20), to my knowledge the RSPCA have the sole authority to confiscate any animal they believe to be suffering at the hands of their owners.

Therefore through your columns I would like to know why the RSPCA didn't use this authority to relieve the said animal from its suffering rather than several visits and warnings which led to the animal eventually being put to sleep.

How much would these visits by RSPCA officers have cost the organisation? In my opinion not only has the owner been irresponsible but also the RSPCA.

What message is this sending out to the public whom the RSPCA depend on for funding - but also to potential perpetrators of animal cruelty?

Sheila Kelly, Thornton Road, Thornton

l Heather Holmes, RSPCA regional press officer, said: "The RSPCA does not have the 'sole authority to confiscate any animal'; only the police can seize an animal if it is believed to be at serious risk.

"As the law stands, the RSPCA cannot prosecute an owner unless we can prove their animal has suffered. Under the 1911 Protection of Animals Act, the charge we bring in a cruelty case is 'causing unnecessary suffering'.

"This means, although we may fear an animal is likely to suffer, until that suffering occurs we can take no action - except offer advice and warn of potential prosecution.

"The RSPCA is very aware of the shortcomings in the law and so is the Government. Hence, last year saw the publication of the draft Animal Welfare Bill, designed to replace the 1911 Act.

"This draft bill contains a 'duty of care', placing a legal obligation on owners to care for their pets properly. Should they fail, inspectors would be able to step in when they feared suffering was likely but before it had actually occurred."

What's on offer

SIR - A Leeds shopping guide features a review of Bradford alongside places such as York, Halifax and Harrogate.

It starts with the closure of Broadway to make way for a massive shopping centre, the only downside being that it won't be finished until 2007.

It goes on to mention a new complex of bars, cafes and restaurants setting up home in Centenary Square, and says there are still plenty of retail opportunities providing you know where to look.

The Kirkgate Centre and Sunwin House cater for all major high street needs and the Wool Exchange with Starbucks and Waterstones is impressively beautiful.

A trek up the hill brings you to The Wharf, very much at odds with its back street surroundings, and further up is the ever popular CBGB's. Behind the university lies the renowned Bombay Stores, the largest Asian fabric store in Europe.

If all that shopping has tired you out, you can end the day in The Love Apple, a gem among Bradford's otherwise chain-dominated outlets.

Of course, all these reviews show the best of what is on offer but perhaps they may inspire people to discover that there is life beyond, Leeds, White Rose and Meadowhall centres.

Jack MacPherson, Killinghall Road, Bradford.

India...on a bike

SIR - International development charity VSO (Voluntary Service Overseas) is offering a thrilling and extraordinary experience cycling through India - open to anyone who is willing to take up a new challenge.

In 1967 I worked as a VSO volunteer in Uganda and it was an experience that changed and shaped my life. You too can have a life-changing experience with VSO through an awesome taste of India.

This 400km bike ride, running from February 24 to March 6, 2006, will take you from the extravagant monument of the Taj Mahal through the unexplored region of Rajasthan, the Land of the Kings.

Participants will have the unique chance to visit a VSO project and see how the money they have raised will be used to help the lives of others.

By signing up to take part in this India challenge, you can help VSO to provide the resources and support needed to do this.

Places on the India Bike Ride are limited so call the VSO Events Hotline 020 8780 7289 today or e-mail events@vso.org.uk for an application pack. More information can be found at www.vso.org.uk/events.

Jon Snow, VSO 317 Putney Bridge Road.

Use of grammar

SIR - Mike Priestley's recent high praise for the store sign "five items or fewer", rather than the more common "five items or less", qualifies him for immediate entry into the Honourable Society of Grammatical Pedants, Bradford Branch.

Fellow members can be assured that Mike will continue to uphold the society's standards; carefully to avoid split infinitives, to make sure the apostrophe's always in its correct place whenever it's necessary, and to demonstrate that ending a sentence with a preposition is something up with which we will not put.

But behind all this lies a serious point.

Communication, in any form, should always be addressed to its recipients' needs. The correct use of vocabulary, grammar and punctuation helps to ensure that the recipients can obtain the clearest possible understanding of the content, removing any ambiguity, confusion and doubt.

Regrettably, Mike will find that most fellow members of the HSGP pre-date so-called "progressive" teaching methods and the "txt" generation - what a surprise !

Graham Hoyle, Kirkbourne Grove, Baildon

Saddam a victim?

SIR - These columns give members of the public an opportunity to express their opinions on matters that would normally not be heard and are usually based on some credibility of fact.

However, there is always one person who can be relied upon, to use fiction, confusion and ignorance.

Mubarik Iqbal (T&A, May 25) claims George Galloway, who I am not fond of, was asked to appear in front of the American Senate, because of his vigorous campaign against the war in Iraq. What nonsense!

I dislike Tony Blair intensely, but she claims that Bush and Blair have 'the audacity to bring their victim, Saddam Hussein, in front of their chosen court'.

She must be the only person in the world, to describe Saddam Hussein as a victim.

Can I recommend Mubarik Iqbal to make a trip to Iraq and make these comments to the families of something like half a million victims of Saddam Hussein, who were slaughtered when there was no war with the West?

Gary Lorriman, North Walk, Harden

Reasons for war

SIR - Mubarik Iqbal's version of why George Galloway was talking to the US Senate (T&A, May 25) is amusing but, as usual, is far from true.

Many people opposed the Iraq war for various reasons. My reason was that a brutal dictator could be replaced by something even worse, for instance a totally repressive Islamic regime.

L A Hobsbaum, Willow Crescent, Bradford

A first for Tories

SIR - Now that the Tories have achieved second place for the third consecutive time in a general election and the Liberals have made significant headway to stay in third, the nation must be overjoyed to learn that the majority of Conservative party chairmen have agreed that their new leader should be elected by Tory MPs.

In a recent interview on TV, Lord Heseltine said that at last sanity had broken out in the party.

Well that's a first anyway!

David Rhodes, Croscombe Walk, Bradford.