ANIMALS' WELFARE.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXII, Issue 19171, 10 November 1925, Page 7

ANIMALS' WELFARE.

Sir, —May I correct the extreme statement made by "Lover of Animals." The streets of the city are particularly clear of stray dogs. - li must be remembered that the dog has not yet lost his liberty or been denied the right to roam, which is a part of his nature. Also, when people see what they consider a stray dog, it is worth remembering what the late Ju£ge Kettle said in one of his decisions, viz., that if you see a watch lying on the pavement you may conclude it is lost, but if it be a dog you have no authority to assume it is lost. If the writer of the letter is really in love with' dogs, his or her services would be greatly appreciated in helping to get a dog home. This work has been long delayed for the want of energetic helpers. Mr. Noble Webster, inspector of the S.P.C.A., will give ail information as to what is being done and could be done to further the matter. It is about time the wretched pound, which I have visited for years, was done away with, and a more fitting abode found .for our dumb friends in keeping with a wealthy city like Auckland. Annie EEardy.

Sir, —I am living fn a country place ' only 35 miles from Quean Street, arid if those people who are making all the fuss about the cruelty of the zoo will come along I will have much pleasure in spending a day taking them round within a radius of two or three miles and showing them proof of what cruelty is. One farm adjoining me (an abandoned one) was rented lately by one of Auckland's wealthy men. Sheep were turned on it to winter there. There, was very little feed to start with, but after a few hundred sheep have grazed on practically nothing for months is it' any wonder the skeletons of at least SO can now be seen lying about, in some instances a ewe and lamb lying together? About three years ago on this same farm several head of cattle were left nncared for and some beautiful cows died from weakness and starvation after calving.' I used to take up a sack of hay daily to a nice little Jersey which was so weak she could not get up. The farm on my back boundary (I only have 220 acres) is another graveyard. The five cows left of a herd of 30 are hardly able to walk from weakness caused by starvation. On my right-hand boundary (another abandoned farm) last winter's toll of cows was seven to say nothing in each instance of old horses which are left and get bogged trying to get a bite along the creek. To a person who has lived on a farm and seen animals starving to death until they finally are too exhausted to move, the. zoo ( appeals as being 'a place of happy contentment to all its inmates. What could be more beautiful than those healthy, happy lion cubs, rolling and tumbling about like well-cared for kittens in a good home (not like the poor starved mother cats and dogs left on farms. A Lover of Animals.