Your correspondent Roy Mealing (RSPCA Hunted, 30.10.04) asks what the RSPCA's view on hunting is, and what the Society is doing to prevent "these horrendous events".
The RSPCA believes hunting is inherently cruel and barbaric. We believe it is outdated and has no place in today's supposedly civilised society. We supported a ban and wanted to see it brought in as soon as was possible.
The RSPCA has been working consistently for years to bring about a ban, together with other animal welfare organisations such as the League Against Cruel Sports and the International Fund for Animal Welfare.
That campaigning work has involved lobbying members of Parliament and highlighting the suffering a fox is caused when it is chased to the point of exhaustion and then torn apart by hounds.
If Mr Mealing would like to know more about the RSPCA's campaign for the hunting ban, he can always log on to our website at www.rspca.org.uk
As to whether the Queen is a fitting patron for the Society, the RSPCA is a democratic society that embraces a broad church of opinion in support of its aims to prevent cruelty and promote kindness to animals. The Queen, as our patron, supports the objects of the Society, but not necessarily individual campaigns that can change from time to time - and there is nothing new in that.
