Sir, - The current-foot-and mouth crisis has produced an unprecedented voluntary response from many sections of the population. My own employers, the Dublin Institute of Technology, have voluntarily cancelled planned open days. Scouting and cycling associations of which I am an active member have voluntarily cancelled all outdoor activities until further notice. If the non-farming sections of our country can respond so decisively to support farming without legal or regulatory compulsion, why do a small number of farmers still seem to think it is acceptable to move animals under cover of darkness, or to spread manure by spraying it over the hedge from the road (as reported by RTE last Friday) just because no one is standing there to say that they can't?
There has been much discussion in the past few days of the level of enforcement of regulations governing the movement of farm animals. Why do they need to be enforced? Should we not be discussing instead why a small section of the farming community carry on as if these are just more rules to get around while the rest of make sacrifices on their behalf? - Yours, etc.,
Barry Redmond, Rathdown Villas, Dublin 6W.