ANITA Knittel, in tonight's Evening News (December 21), yet again allows her fixation with the class system and passionate belief in animal rights to cloud her judgement when it comes to the question of animal welfare and hunting.

The original letter from L Spiteri of Worcester which prompted her comments was based on a knowledge of firearms for fox control that could be written on the back of a postage stamp.

Should L Spiteri wish to comment properly in future on this subject I am willing to arrange for a competent shot to explain the pros and con of shooting.

Hunting may be inefficient in monetary terms but the public are not asked to pay for it. In fact, the hunt helps many farmers to keep their costs down by removing fallen stock for them at low or no cost at all.

Anita's allegations that the 400,000 Countryside Alliance membership comprises mainly of lawyers, estate agents and property developers is extremely funny.

The present Worcestershire CA Chairman is a farm machinery salesman, his predecessor, a garage mechanic.

Present committee members include a gardener, a retired civil servant and a farmer. Until recently, the secretary was a school dinner lady - a bunch of professional social climbing toffs, I think not Anita.

The Burns Report into hunting has made it quite clear that the fox population will continue to be managed and that hunting in no way compromises the welfare of the fox any more than the other methods of control available.

More and more people are beginning to realise that the hunting issue is a pot that is kept boiling by this Government to draw attention away from its failure to keep the railways working, the NHS from collapsing and our streets safe at night.

J N BURGESS,

Malvern.