IN response to M Burcher (You Say, November 5) and his/her remarks about "those animal rights activists", just how does this person classify an animal rights activist?

Are they supposed to look different or act in a particular way? Is it someone who supports the abolition of vivisection - where millions of cats, dogs, mice and rabbits are artificially bred then sacrificed every year?

Is it someone who feels sickened by the spectacle of hunting wild animals with dogs for recreation?

Or is it someone who finds it detestable that more than 40 million pheasants are purposely shed-reared and released every year to satisfy the bloodthirsty appetites of the shooting fraternity?

Perhaps it's someone who supports the campaign to end the mass commercial slaughter of 5.5 million kangaroos - when new research has proved that kangaroos naturally regulate their numbers, do not damage crops, and certainly don't damage the environment.

There again, maybe it's someone who remains unconvinced by the arguments of the meat industry, an industry cloaked in secrecy, careful never to show pictures or open its doors for public viewing.

If being one of "those animal rights activists" equates to any of the aforementioned issues, then I am therefore guilty as charged and proud of it.

A J BIRBECK, Worcester.