Elizabeth Taylor is economical with holy scripture (Letters, July 23) in her attack on Sister Lena, Brighton Marina's fishing nun.

She claims Jesus would disapprove of fishing. Yet Jesus chose fishermen to be his disciples, assisted their fishing (Luke 5:4-6), fed the 5,000 with loaves and fish (Mark 6:41) and, after his Resurrection, cooked fresh fish for his disciples' breakfast (John 21:9-13). A fish even became his symbol among the early Christians. The claim by some animal-rights campaigners that Jesus was some kind of latter-day vegan is total hogwash.

Ms Taylor is similarly off-mark with her Old Testament quotes. "Thou shalt not kill" (Exodus 20:13) is about murder, not animal rights. "They shall not hurt or destroy in all my holy mountain" (Isaiah 11:9) is not a command but a futuristic prophecy. In fact, the Jews were permitted to eat fish, flesh and fowl, with certain restrictions about what creatures were lawful and strict rules about methods of slaughter and preparation (see Leviticus 11).

As for Gloria Wheatcroft's assertion that gulls are fully justified in attacking human beings, often causing injuries or even, in one recent case, a man's death and snatching food out of our hands because they are such good parents, this is more sentimental codswallop from the animal-rights politically-correct nonsense brigade.

I like to see and hear the gulls flying round as much as the next person but I have no illusions they are anything other than opportunistic parasites and scavengers. Far from depriving them of their habitat, we have provided them with a greatly extended one. They have become increasingly cheeky and dangerous in recent years. You only have to look at them to see they are not undernourished and desperate for food. Most of them are obese.

-Monica Truman, Bedford Square, Brighton