How can we be called animal lovers?

I READ with interest Suzanne Harrington’s recent article “It’s a dog’s life ... so treat it care” (December 15) and find it difficult to correlate Kathrina Bentley from Dogs Trust assertion that we are a nation of animal lovers with the appalling statistics of dogs being destroyed daily in Irish pounds.

We are a nation of only four million people, yet over 12,000 dogs are put down annually in our pounds, factor in all the other methods which people dispose of unwanted dogs, animal welfare groups estimate the numbers to be over 20,000.

To put this in perspective Scotland who have a similar population to ourselves put down less than a 1000 dogs annually.

The thousands of dogs who live out their lives in back yards, chained, not exercised or loved are common place in Ireland.

The puppy farm business is a shameful indictment of our government’s lack of interest or compassion for animals. The suffering endured by these dogs is incomprehensible to any human being with a shred of compassion or decency.

We Irish like to lay claim to many accolades, however animal lovers is not one which is either fitting or deserved.

Sean Kiely

Blanchardstown

Dublin 15