Wendy Peckham of the Countryside Alliance (Opinion, February 17) is being extremely economical with the facts about deer hunting when she says "the deer will turn and face hounds and stand at bay long before it is exhausted" and "it is despatched by an experienced marksman at close range."
One wonders why she wishes to distort the facts if her organisation has nothing to hide.
The fact is that deerhounds are bred for stamina rather than speed, so the hunt is prolonged for as long as possible.
The Bateson Report (1997), commissioned by the National Trust, found the average distance of hunts was 12 miles and lasted three hours.
Bateson also found blood samples taken from killed deer showed "clear-cut" evidence that the deer were physiologically exhausted when cornered.
Of the final kills he witnessed, 50 per cent of the deer shot by "expert" marksmen did not die instantly. In 20-30 per cent of kills, the deer is forcibly held while it is shot.
Bateson concluded that the degree of prolonged suffering caused by hunting with dogs was unacceptable.
-Frank Prince-Iles, Sunnydale Avenue, Brighton
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