I WOULD like to thank John Grogan for supporting the Government's motion to ban fox hunting and I'm sure it will improve, rather than damage his chances of re-election, as the vitriolic minority Hooray Henries slowly fade into insignificance.

I am sick of hearing the ridiculous arguments about civil liberties and tradition. Many things impinge on our civil liberties - the fact that I cannot marauder around York decapitating members of the public is a constraint on my civil liberties, but I hear nobody campaigning for it, as, just like fox hunting, this kind of unnecessary barbarity is a liberty we should be pleased to concede.

As for tradition and livelihood, up until 1965 it was traditional for those found guilty of murder in Britain to be executed. I presume those arguing for fox hunting were complaining then that the banning of capital punishment ended decades of tradition and that loss of jobs for hangmen was enough to outweigh any moral issues.

Chris Jones,

Aldwark,

York.

Updated: 09:37 Saturday, October 02, 2004