Hunting dogs and their rights

Kenneth Cassar of Animal Rights (March 11) writes that all hunting dogs do is fetch dead birds. He might have made animal rights his crusade but he seems to be ignorant about anything else related to animals. People with even the slightest knowledge about dogs refer to such dogs as retrievers since their breeding throughout the years as an aid to the hunter has perfected their sense of finding dead game and retrieving it. These dogs cannot be considered as hunting dogs even though they play a very crucial role in the hunting world.

Clearly he has no idea that hunting dogs exist. These dogs include setters, pointers, spaniels, hounds and terriers. These purposely-bred dogs are trained to hunt, follow, chase, trail, track and retrieve birds or ground game. These dogs do not need, as his warped suggestion states, "wings or guns to hunt" game-birds or ground game. They use their noses, their brains, their hunting instincts, and the training expounded on them with patience and love by people like young Danica Rosso (February 29). Before taking her to task, and making a fool of himself in the process, the least he could have done is check his facts.

The way this AR activist puts forward his misinformed views in this newspaper is disturbing. His absurd "explanation" about hunting dogs is typical. To top up the nonsense, he writes that "dogs' unfortunate status today is that of being human property" implying thereby that dogs should have complete freedom and, in their capacity of 'non-human persons", be allowed to roam around freely unattended by their "owners"! Does he realise the unacceptable chaos this would create or the cruelty it would cause? Perhaps he would care to share with readers his master plan, if he has one, as to how he intends to change the present status of dogs as pets and treasured "human property".

Mr Cassar concludes with his usual AR ideology "that no sentient individual should be exploited or killed just for someone else's pleasure, be that someone human or non-human." According to Mr Cassar, hunters may not shoot birds for the table, nor should dogs and cats eat meat and fish. Besides, if scientists were to prove that all plants are also "sentient", and in some cases they have done so already, then goodbye to vegetarianism! Perhaps we could then eat one another, with AR permission of course!

Clearly Mr Cassar, the animal rights guru who professes to be a human animal, does not own a hunting dog since his peculiar beliefs would probably only allow him to cohabit with one. Ms Rosso like all other level-minded dog lovers happens to enjoy the purpose for which her dog was bred and would rather leave her dog decide as to whether it has a right to hunt or, as Mr Cassar suggests, "fetch rubber balls".