SIR - I am so glad that democracy has prevailed and that the laws against hunting have been upheld.

I am against hunting because I am very concerned that any act of torturing and killing a creature for sport is a terrible lesson for the young. It has a continuous history back to bear baiting and cock fighting and must brutalise those taking part. How can we expect the young to respect vulnerable people: asylum seekers, the elderly, the disabled, if they are encouraged to be cruel to animals?

I am sad the royals are not setting an example, and worried that a lunatic fringe of the gentry' will flout the law, thus setting an even worse example.

What on earth is wrong with drag hunting ?

And, yes, I am a vegetarian.

Charmian Goldwyn retired Twickenham GP Elm Bank Gardens SW 13