I would like to respond to the letter by Franco Farrugia (Dogs' Ignoble End, August 13).

Video clips and biased editing can distort the truth and present a visual experience which deviates from the reality. So it is for this reason that the SPCA has submitted a formal complaint about the video clip and news item that appeared on a television channel last week and we do not wish to comment whilst this case is still pending.

But I can inform Mr Farrugia that the numbers of white bags containing animal carcasses that are taken for disposal come from the public because approximately 80 per cent of those animals being disposed of belong to people who want to put their pet to sleep humanely. Very often this is a traumatic experience for the owner and the disposal experience is never pleasant but it has to be done. This in contrast to the too many owners who cruelly throw them out in the street to fend for themselves when they are no longer able to cope with them.

These are the poor animals that finish up on our door steps dishevelled and neglected but are lucky enough to receive the love and attention of our carers before being re homed , sometimes even after five years.

Burying fallen animals in land fills, although accepted, is not the preferred method of disposal but unfortunately it was the only method open to us.

The incinerator mentioned by Mr Farrugia is neither licensed nor does it conform to the standard normally required for incineration so this would not be the option we would choose.

Within a short while WasteServ, who are now accommodating us at the Abattoir with a freezer container, are due to have the long planned procedure in place to allow us to start using the incinerator and this will then remain the only way that SPCA will dispose of their fallen animals.

Finally, we too lobby hard and look forward to the day when all stray animals are cared for and have the possibility to be re-homed, when owners face up to the responsibilities of pet ownership and when all organisations and individuals work together with the authorities to achieve an acceptable standard of animal welfare and enforcement. Till then Mr Farrugia, we are doing the best we can with the very limited resources that are available to us.