RE the Hoghton Tower duck/pheasant slaughter. Why would men even contemplate the killing of these gentle, defenceless birds in the name of "sport?"

What the general public does not seem to be aware of, are the animal welfare issues surrounding this so-called sport. Pheasant rearing and shooting is a multi-million-pound business in Britain which subjects millions of artificially-hatched birds to the rigours of intensive farming, threatens the environment, kills nearly five million birds and mammals in predatory control programmes each year and annually dumps around 75,000 metric tonnes of lead shot on the countryside.

The system further intensified, with wooden pens being constructed to house breeding birds.

No longer could the animals live the way their ancestors had for countless thousands of years. Foraging for food was replaced by scrabbling for the daily feed. Evading predators was replaced by an existence behind wire mesh - or being trapped by it if the predator managed to get inside. Caring for their young disappeared completely, with eggs being stolen as soon as they were laid.

In recent years, the breeding systems have spiralled out of control. A profit-driven arms race' between game farms has resulted in technological escalation at the expense of animal welfare. The cages have shrunk and more birds are crammed into smaller spaces. These conditions engender violence - a problem the game farmer seek to tackle through the use of punishing devices which limit the birds' vision and their ability to peck.

Battery cages are an entirely alien environment for any animal. The natural behaviours of pheasants and partridges make these systems psychologically damaging - which can frequently lead to violence and death.

Unlike grouse, who are born and killed in the wild, pheasants are mass produced' in industrial hatcheries and fattened in sheds like commercial chickens, before being beaten up into the sky to be shot down for pleasure.

JEANNE YOUNG (address supplied).