SLAUGHTER figures are almost back to normal after a brief closure of slaughterhouses during the initial stages of the foot-and-mouth epidemic.

Far more animals have passed through the doors of these buildings over the past month than have met their deaths on farms and face the pyres.

Their deaths are no less horrific - animals are often inadequately stunned before being suspended upside down to have their throats cut.

They can witness - and always hear and scent - the deaths of their companions. Yet no mention of this killing is found in our media. Can this be a conspiracy of carnivores? If the horror of what the nation kills and eats each year - 900 million animals and birds - is too great to bear, better by far to leave it behind the closed doors of the slaughterhouse?

If the sight of suffering animals is causing you to choke on your breakfast bacon, call our Veggie Hotline on 01732 354 032 for a free recipe pack and information on the alternative to killing.

KAY HOLDER,

Animal Aid.