Sir, – Any animal lover, I am sure, will be as appalled as myself to have heard the news of the execution and mass burial of 52 greyhounds, even though it was on the other side of the world in Australia.
We were also made aware on a recent television programme screened here, that incidents of this nature may also take place in the United Kingdom.
It is alleged that 2,500 greyhounds, which have become surplus to requirement once their racing days are over, have disappeared off the face of the earth.
On the official greyhound data website, it is possible to check a dog’s bloodline and family history back five or six generations.
The data held online includes the animals’ owners, races run, together with statistics and often, it is possible to view past races which have been video recorded.
If the owner has passed the animal to a greyhound rescue centre, the website names the centre responsible for the rehoming of the retired dog.
Would it not be worthwhile for the greyhound racing authorities in Britain to make it mandatory for all owners to declare this last and vital piece of information?
This might go some way to alleviating the sad demise which some suspect may befall some of these wonderful animals?
We are extremely fortunate to have a first-class greyhound rehoming centre in Courier Country.
The Fife Greyhound Rescue Centre, near Kinross, are always prepared to take into their care any unwanted greyhound.
The centre have already found new homes for well over 800 of these dogs which I know from first-hand experience make excellent pets.
Ron Blanchard. 177 Kinghorn Road, Burntisland.
Wind a failed technology
Sir, – Another wind farm is proposed for the Alyth countryside.
When are those who promote these developments going to ask themselves why we abandoned sailing ships 200 years ago and why we dumped windmills for processing grain?
The answer is simple. Wind is unreliable and inefficient and the devices it drives are not fit to meet the demands of the population.
Yet we are covering our countryside with this hardware that cannot and will never meet the demands of our nation.
I am in favour of alternative energy but it has to meet our needs at all times.
The power companies are trying to make us think they are benefiting local areas with their funding and huge sums of money to landowners.
These companies get paid when the wind does not blow and also when the wind is too powerful.
The public are paying the price and our electricity bills will not be cut.
Roy Bayne. 2 Isla Grove, Alyth.
Obscene green energy rip off
Sir, – Alex Salmond’s dash-for-wind will generate massive amounts of wasted electricity that will cost the taxpayer billions of pounds.
By 2020, wind farms will produce excessive levels of grossly subsidised power which lack of infrastructure and storage facilities will prevent from being exported to other countries.
Yet absurd compensation to wealthy turbine owners who cannot find a buyer for their energy will continue to be borne by consumers and will hit the poorest disproportionately hard.
Last year an obscene sum of nearly £55 million was paid out to owners to switch off their turbines because their electricity was not needed or would have overloaded the National Grid.
This manic, hugely expensive project, launched before the means of storing bulk electricity existed, has degraded Scotland’s iconic scenery and is a national tragedy.
Dr John Cameron. 10 Howard Place, St Andrews.
Church needs another revival
Sir, – As a retired Church of Scotland minister, it may seem strange that I am quite happy about all the negative publicity about church attendances.
The only answer is revival and that will only come when we become fully aware of the disastrous state of the church.
Only revival has brought new life in the past.
In 1949, the Lewis Revival brought thousands to church every day and night, not just Sundays. Duncan Campbell was mightily used at this time.
It was started off by two elderly women who met together for prayer every day and cried to the Lord for revival.
In 2013 there was the wonderful Welsh Revival when Evan Roberts was used.
Not only were churches packed to capacity every day and night but thousands came from abroad to experience God’s power.
In 1842, Dundee experienced true revival when, under the leadership of Robert Murray McCheyne, St Peter’s Church was packed every night of the week.
If all the negative publicity forces us to truly despair and see the desperate need of prayer more than any other solution, it will result in being a true blessing.
Rev James E Powrie. Craigard, 3 Kirktonhill Road, Kirriemuir.
Cashing in on nuisance calls
Sir, – As BT are forever crowing about their technology, surely they can prevent nuisance calls by interrogating withheld numbers before passing the call on or not, as those who withhold a number are up to no good by definition.
Now coming at night and early morning, these calls are alarming for anyone with a family member in hospital, for example.
But perhaps BT’s failure to do something is because they make money from these nuisance calls?
Would a BT representative please grace your pages with an answer to this problem?
Malcolm Parkin. 15 Gamekeepers Road, Kinnesswood, Kinross.
Ignorant stance on gay people
Sir, -The ignorance of Rev David Robertson and Stuart Wishart about gay people amazes and disgusts me.
All this tosh about what the bible says and God’s will is just absolute rubbish.
Have they been living in a mindless bubble or have they been totally brainwashed by religious propaganda directed against everybody who they believe is different?
Wake up lads, start thinking for yourselves. Book yourselves in for a reality check.
Bob Smart. 55 Bellevue Gardens, Arbroath.
Scots landlords play vital role
Sir, – As an industry body representingScotland’s landlords and agents, we are concerned that when it comes to the country’s private-rented sector, the Scottish Government are increasingly seeing the issue only from one perspective, the very important issue of protecting tenants, without fully considering the implications of some of their proposals on landlords and letting agents.
In a poll commissioned by the Scottish Association of Landlords (SAL), we saw that the Scottish electorate are keen to ensure that the private-rented sector in Scotland is well functioning and accountable.
SAL has found a lot of common ground with the Scottish Government, as well as housing charities to ensure the private-rental sector is effective.
However, we are urging the Scottish Government to consider all sides of the PRS in Scotland in order to encourage investment in the sector and not to be side-tracked on single political issues like rent control and tenancy reform, which have not been designed with the majority of PRS tenants in mind.
Landlord and agent investment is critical to ensure a well-functioning sector with high standards and value for money for tenants in a sector where demand is expected to rise over the coming years.
John Blackwood. Chief executive, Scottish Association of Landlords, 8b McDonald Road, Edinburgh.
IFS assumptions are irrelevant
Sir,- The UK debt is about £1.5 trillion and growing. It is unlikely this debt will ever be completely repaid, but, with low interest rates, we can afford to service it.
The UK Government failed in its promise to eliminate the deficit by 2015. The current annual deficit is nearly £90 billion but all parties agree that it is important to balance the books in future.
However, can the Conservative plan guarantee that the deficit will be eliminated in 2018, can we protect those on benefits from cuts and can we tolerate cuts to our public services?
David Dempsey (April 27) assigns a “black hole” deficit of £7.6 bn to the Scottish Government on the basis of its support for full fiscal autonomy.
The IFS guestimate which produced this figure is of no relevance, since it relates to 2015-16. The Scottish Government has already been given its allowance for the current financial year, so it cannot run up a £7.6 bn deficit.
Also, the IFS forecast for 2020 contains some dodgy assumptions, such as the Scottish Government would not make changes to improve our economic performance, but it still predicts a reduction in the Scottish deficit as a percentage of GDP.
Andrew Masson. St Anne’s, Monorgan, Longforgan.
Tragedy of once-great party
Sir, – Lord Jack McConnell describes the SNP surge as a “protest movement”and pontificates as to it being a “tragedy”. But like all the other high flyers in the Westminster Labour cabal, he fails to see that the real tragedy is that traditional Labour supporters are departing this once-proud party in droves because they have lost the faith.
Just last week, Scottish Labour leader Jim Murphy was thumping home the point that: “The SNP didn’t found the health service, the SNP didn’t found the welfare service.”
Of course, he is right, but what he fails to admit to is that successive Labour and Tory governments have destroyed these services out of all recognition to what their founders envisaged.
If all the predictions come true, these parties will continue to devalue them in the next parliament if there is no opposition to hold them to account.
The once-proud forward thinking Scottish Labour party is no more and that is the tragedy.
It is for Lord McConnell and company to pull their heads out of the sand, look up and smell the roses.
Ian Allan. 5 Marchside Court, Sauchie.