To the editor:

I find myself compelled to respond to Mr. Collins’ September 21 letter to the editor about animal treatment hypocrisy. 

He’s quite right that it’s hypocritical to get upset at the mistreatment and neglect of animals locally in Westport while turning a blind eye to the institutionalized cruelties routinely inflicted on the animals we eat that come from elsewhere. 

The solution, however, isn’t to therefore ignore the animal suffering in our own back yard but to try to eliminate it everywhere. Eat meat if you want but become informed about the horrifying reality of how most food animals are raised these days.  Being upset by animal cruelty and suffering is called compassion in my book, and not hysteria.

Contrary to what Mr. Collins asserts in his letter, animals of all sorts do all have feelings and sensitivities and do all suffer when abused and so do all deserve protection. Some might wind up as our food but they are still sentient creatures, not inanimate objects, and they all deserve to be treated as such.

Mr Collins is right that the main difference between the pig we eat and the dog we pet is the cute furry face of the latter. Current slaughterhouses are morally corrupt, and forcing dogs to fight to the death is not the same as having highly paid humans fight voluntarily. 

This is not crazy “hand wringing old biddy” talk but the deep conviction of huge numbers of thoughtful, compassionate people of all ages around the globe who, like me, agree with Ghandi that “the greatness of a nation and its moral progress can be judged by the way its animals are treated”.

Marge Peppercorn

Portsmouth