A KNITTEL (You Say, November 22) is presumably healthy and can, therefore, afford to campaign against the use of animals in medical research.

But what about the millions of us whose lives depend upon prescription medicines?

Or those of us who need medical research to continue? Don't they deserve something better than her emotional propaganda?

The fact is that all modern prescription medicines are developed and tested with the help of animal studies.

And I'm not simply talking of the legally-required animal testing before human clinical trials.

I'm referring to the research and development that is conducted in the fundamental stages of drug discovery.

Where there is no legal requirement to use animals, they are used because it's the only way to find out what happens in a living body.

If anyone should disagree with me, then please name me an available prescription medicine that has been developed without any animal research.

Seriously Ill for Medical Research (SIMR) is a patients' group that supports the humane use of animals and genetic technology where necessary in medical research. Our members suffer from illnesses such as cancer, heart disease, diabetes, asthma, and many, many more diseases.

For a free information pack please write to SIMR, PO Box 504, Dunstable, Bedfordshire, LU6 2LU. www.simr.org.uk; e-mail; info@simr.org.uk

THOMAS BROMLEY,

Littlehampton,

West Sussex.