Tag: letters

Letters: Animal Sentience

The Animal Welfare (Sentience) Bill is due to reach its final stages in Parliament on 7th March 2022. If passed, it will require the UK Government to consider the welfare needs of animals as sentient beings when making and implementing policies, and animal sentience will once again be enshrined in UK Law.

Sir,

As we are a nation of animal lovers, it’s hard to believe that UK law doesn’t currently recognise animals as being able to feel joy, pain, fear and excitement. No one who has ever seen a cow going outside for the first time after a winter indoors, a hen dust bathing, or a pig wallowing in a fresh patch of mud would be in any doubt that animals are sentient. I am shocked that we even find ourselves in this position. 

During the 1990s, Compassion in World Farming – a charity I have long supported – campaigned tirelessly on this issue, resulting in the recognition of animal sentience becoming enshrined in EU law and for this to be given full regard by governments when making and implementing policy.

However, for the past year, following the UK’s departure from the EU, this important protection has been lost. As a vet, I just cannot comprehend that farm animals are currently only seen as ‘goods’ in the eyes of the law. It’s nonsensical.

Thanks to Compassion and other NGOs, MPs are currently debating the Animal Welfare (Sentience) Bill in Parliament. This will ensure that animals are once again legally recognised as sentient, thinking beings. The Bill has just passed its Committee Stage in the House of Commons, but we aren’t over the finish line just yet, so it’s vital MPs vote in support of the Bill when it has its final stages (7th March).

We don’t need any more dither or delay. What we need is to reinstate the important principle of animal sentience in UK law.

Dr Emma Milne BVSC FRCVS, vet and Supporter of Compassion in World Farming

TV presenter, vet and author Emma Milne is well known for her love of animals. Emma is passionate about animal welfare and advocates better standards of care for pets, conservation of wildlife and an end to factory farming. Emma starred in eleven series of BBC’s Vets in Practice programme (1996 – 2003).

www.emmathevet.co.uk

Letters: Ovarian cancer crisis

Dear Editor, 

Women are being failed as the awareness crisis in ovarian cancer deepens. Symptoms of ovarian cancer are being ignored – both by those experiencing them and their GPs.  

This March, for Ovarian Cancer Awareness Month, Target Ovarian Cancer is urging the public to sign open letters to governments across the UK and tell them what is needed to combat the crisis. We desperately need to make progress in people’s knowledge of the symptoms. 

In 2010 my mother, the actress Marjie Lawrence, was diagnosed with ovarian cancer just three weeks before she died. Had we and her doctors been aware of the symptoms, Marjie might be alive today. If diagnosed at the earliest stage, 9 in 10 women will survive. But two thirds of women are diagnosed late, when the cancer is harder to treat.  

I’m writing to ask your readers to take just two minutes of their time to learn the symptoms and spread the word to their families and friends. The main symptoms of ovarian cancer are: persistent bloating, feeling full or having difficulty eating, tummy pain, and needing to wee more often or more urgently.  

If you believe in a future where every woman diagnosed with ovarian cancer has the best chance of survival, please show your support and add your name to the open letter: campaign.targetovariancancer.org.uk/openletter 

With best wishes, 

SARAH GREENE,

Target Ovarian Cancer Patron 

30 Angel Gate, City Road, London EC1V 2PT  

Target Ovarian Cancer is the UK’s leading ovarian cancer charity. We work to improve early diagnosis, fund life-saving research and provide much-needed support to women with ovarian cancer 

https://targetovariancancer.org.uk  

Letters: The Propertied Class

Dear Editor

We have to ask:

  1. Whe did the propertied class begin to clear the land of the people?
  2. Howlong did ot take and is it now completed?
  3. What was the timescale between clearances and the industrial expansion?

We know that following the industrial expansion the working class became wage labourers, their working time and hours under the tight control of the propertied class. It still remains that this is the source of the power of the propertied class.

The length of the working day/week/the shift work/all variations of day work/night work are still owned and controlled by the propertied class.

Finally, everything that is made becomes the outright property of this class solely.

But we have seen a degree of organisation of the working class in the formation of the Trade Unions, for example. They fight to reduce the amount of people’s time stolen by the propertied class.

The struggle continues!

TONY DELAHOY

Silverknowes Gardens

Letters: Barcoded Stamps

Dear Editor,

Your readers will have seen that our ‘every day’ stamps are changing. We are adding unique barcodes to stamps to pave the way for innovative services for our customers and to enhance the security of the postal service.

We are encouraging customers to find and use-up any non-barcoded stamps before 31 January 2023. However, if customers are unable to use them up by then, we will exchange them for barcoded stamps completely free of charge.

Our ‘Swap Out’ scheme will open on 31 March 2022. Customers will be able to print out a form from our website, call our Customer Experience team to ask for one or pick one up from their local Delivery Office’s Customer Service Point. 

More details about our ‘Swap Out’ scheme will be announced soon, but in the meantime please be assured that all existing stamps remain valid for postage in the usual way.

Yours faithfully,

Nick Landon,

Chief Commercial Officer, Royal Mail

Letters: Pet-friendly renting

Dear Editor,

During the pandemic, many of us have benefited from the companionship, fun and comfort that comes from owning a cat. However, for many people in Scotland who rent rather than own their own home, cat ownership isn’t an option.

Blanket ‘no-pet’ policies and limited cat-friendly rented homes can make it difficult for some people to ever experience the pleasure of owning a cat. In other cases, owners are placed in the heartbreaking situation of having to rehome a much-loved cat if they need to move and can’t find another pet-friendly rental.

Cats Protection has been working to help more renters experience the joy cat ownership, and we need the help of cat lovers in Scotland. The Scottish Government is currently consulting on proposals to allow tenants to keep pets in rented accommodation, potentially giving responsible renters greater rights to cat ownership. We need your help to back these proposals and send a message that renters in Scotland deserve the chance to have a cat.

You can add your support for the proposals by using Cats Protection’s simple online form – it takes only a couple of minutes to complete.

Find out more by visiting: www.cats.org.uk/scottish-renters

Alice Palombo

Advocacy & Government Relations Officer (Scotland), Cats Protection

Letter: Stride for Stroke challenge

Dear Editor

Like so many others, stroke has left a really devastating legacy on my family. My dad died of a stroke and his dad, my grandfather, had a major stroke which left him unable to speak again. 

But many people don’t realise that the vast majority of strokes – around 80-90% in fact – are preventable, which is why I’m supporting the Stroke Association’s Stride for Stroke campaign as my New Year’s resolution.  

I exercise regularly, try to eat healthily and keep an eye on my blood pressure, which are all ways to help lower your risk of stroke – but there’s more we can all do…

So this year, the charity is challenging everyone who cares about this devastating condition, and who is able to do so to walk 10,000 steps a day for 130 days. If that’s something you could do, that would add up to 1.3million steps, one for every stroke survivor in the UK.

Stroke strikes every five minutes in the UK and it changes lives in an instant. However, with our support, the Stroke Association can help more stroke survivors and their families find hope and rebuild their lives.

So come on, if you’re looking for a New Year’s resolution that will make a huge difference, why not take on the Stride for Stroke challenge? Sign up today at www.stroke.org.uk/stride   

Thank you and Happy New Year,

Vogue Williams

Letters: Happy and healthy kittens

Dear Letters Editor,

With online pet sales on the increase, Cats Protection would like to warn of the potential risk of buying an ill or diseased kitten.

This year the charity has heard of many kittens that were taken from their mothers at too young an age and sold online for the sake of a quick profit. Kittens should be at least eight weeks old so that they are fully weaned and developing normally from a health and behavioural perspective. 

Unsuspecting buyers did not realise that they bought a potentially sick kitten until after purchase which meant they were sometimes left with high veterinary bills, or in some cases, a kitten which tragically died.

Action Fraud also reports that there has been a six-fold increase in instances of kitten and cat fraud (1,146 in 2020/21 compared to just 190 in 2019/20), underlining the need for buyers to be vigilant.

Please visit www.cats.org.uk/eight-weeks for advice on how to purchase a happy and healthy kitten or give a donation to help Cats Protection care for unwanted kittens.

Yours faithfully,

Dr Maggie Roberts

Director of Veterinary Services, Cats Protection

Letters: Mary’s Meals Christmas

Dear Editor, 

The charm of the presents under our Christmas tree lies partly in their very different shapes and sizes. Perhaps the same could be said of our own families. None of them look the same.  

Take 12-year-old Hawa – she lives with her granny, an aunt and four cousins in Liberia. Often there is not enough food for her family to eat. 

Mary’s Meals serves nutritious food at school to children living in some of the world’s poorest countries, attracting them into the classroom where they receive an education that can, in the future, be their ladder out of poverty. 

More than two million children receive our life-changing meals every school day – including Hawa. 

I am pleased to tell you that, until 31 January 2022, donations made to our  Double The Love campaign will be matched, up to £1.6 million, by a generous group of supporters.  

Those children receiving Mary’s Meals might not have a pile of presents to unwrap on Christmas morning, but their dreams are alive and well, thanks to those who share our belief that every child should have enough to eat and go to school. 

You can learn more about our work by visiting marysmeals.org.uk 

Have a wonderful Christmas, 

Magnus MacFarlane-Barrow, founder of Mary’s Meals  

Letters: Switch the salt and reduce your risk of stroke

Dear Editor

Around 776,579 people adults in Scotland have been diagnosed with high blood pressure in Scotland, with many more remaining undiagnosed and unaware.

That’s extremely worrying to our charity as high blood pressure is one of the leading causes of stroke.

One of the ways to reduce blood pressure is to reduce your sodium intake. Most of this sodium is in the salt we eat and that’s why we’re proud to support Season with Sense, a public health campaign which aims to drive down consumer sodium intake.

The good news is that by making small changes to our diet – such as cutting the amount or type of salt – we can greatly reduce our risk of serious health issues.

If you find it hard to cut out salt completely, there are alternatives to regular table, sea and rock salts such as LoSalt® which has two thirds less sodium without any taste compromise.

Find out more at www.seasonwithsense.com. 

When you’re out shopping, watch out for the special tubs of LoSalt® on sale in supermarkets. For every tub sold a 20p donation will be made to help fund the vital work we do to support stroke survivors and carers.

The tubs will also have information attached to help shoppers understand the FAST test. Face, Arms, Speech, are the most common signs that someone is having a stroke. Time tells you that Stroke is a medical emergency and you must phone 999 straight away. We are thrilled that this vital information will be getting into the hands of 150,000 people.

Please do note that if you take some types of medication that affect potassium levels, LoSalt® and other reduced sodium salt alternatives may not be suitable for you. This includes people receiving medication for diabetes, heart or kidney disorders. Check with your GP for advice.

John Watson

Associate Director Scotland, The Stroke Association

Letters: World Pancreatic Cancer Day

Dear Editor, 

Ahead of World Pancreatic Cancer Day on November 18th I’m writing to highlight the importance of learning the symptoms of this devastating disease. 

Worryingly, our new survey tells us that nearly a third of people in the UK would wait three months or more to seek help from their GP if they had potential symptoms of pancreatic cancer. That’s at least three times longer than recommended. 

The findings also show that the pandemic is actively deterring people from contacting their doctor, with 31% saying they would delay seeking help for longer than usual. Pancreatic cancer symptoms – which can include tummy and back pain, indigestion. unexplained weight loss and oily floating poo – are common to less serious health conditions and, tragically many people are diagnosed too late for lifesaving treatment.

In Scotland nearly 1,000 people are diagnosed with the disease each year. 

I would urge anyone who experiences some, or all, of these symptoms persistently for more than four weeks to contact their GP. Early diagnosis is vital to give people the very best chance of survival.  

Pancreatic Cancer UK have made a short video explaining the symptoms we all need to look out for. Please watch and share it with your loved ones.

It could help someone be diagnosed in time for lifesaving treatment. 

https://youtu.be/m_qVP2oau0c

www.pancreaticcancer.org.uk/the-common-symptoms-of-pancreatic-cancer 

Our Specialist nurses are here to provide support and information to anyone affected by pancreatic cancer on our confidential support line on (Freecall: 0808 801 0707). 

Thank you,

Dianne Dobson 

Pancreatic Cancer UK Specialist Nurse