I struggled to understand Mike Fry’s letter “Hunt ban law impractical” (January 11) but then it became clear the important point he made was that hunting laws are shot through with contradictions.

Above all he is surely absolutely right that any body of law must be founded in sound principles. And that surely is why our treatment of both farm animals and wild animals becomes incoherent – we have no founding animal welfare principle.

For instance, animals such as chickens and pigs are mass-processed in highly-confined conditions for our consumption, yet other animals, such as dogs and cats, are our pets on which we lavish life-long care and attention.

We mass-process and consume one group of animals, another group are our treasured pets.

So what principle should our law be based on? Buddhists of course will do no harm to any animal – their principle, not needing law but founded in self-education, is to treat all animals with care and respect.

I believe personally this is a hugely valuable and enlightened example to set the world.

But in UK – the British blood sport brigade – tell me anyone of a more brutal pack of killers and hunters in what is supposed to be a civilised country.

Their pleasure is breeding and shooting birds out of the sky, as also hunting and killing the fox for the sheer pleasure of this “blood sport”.

JEFF WILLIAMS, Jubilee Road, Parkstone