I WRITE in response to "Disgusted Animal Lover" (Your Letters, June 18). I don't have the benefit of having seen Mr Butterworth's earlier letter, but I'd like to ask "Disgusted" just who she is disgusted with?

It sounds as if she is disgusted with the animal welfare organisations for not having more helpers.

Or is she disgusted with the Government for not funding better animal welfare services?

Or is she disgusted with people such as herself for not giving up her spare time to help the relevant organisations?

I work as a midwife but in my spare time, along with other members of the South Lancashire Bat Group, I rehabilitate bats. Also, on behalf of English Nature, I reassure and assist people who find bats roosting in their homes, especially where the bats are unwanted. All this work is of a voluntary nature. The South Lancashire Bat Group has a "Bat Helpline" for people to ring if they have found a stranded bat or have any other problem involving bats. Despite having jobs and personal lives, our members care about bats enough to give up what time they can to deal with the calls that come in. Often though, callers have to make do with leaving a message on an answering machine. We have no external source of funding and rely entirely on the help of volunteers.

When people ring us, often having got our number from the RSPCA, they seem to think that we should have an army of people on stand-by to leap immediately into bat-mobiles and dash out to see them or collect their bat. Wouldn't it be wonderful if that were the case.

I suppose people think that because bats are protected by law, ample resources for tending them will be provided by the Government. It's not true, and if it's not true for legally protected and declining species then it's not very surprising that the resources for other animals are short.

The point is that I am quite sure most other animal welfare groups are in entirely the same position as we are. While it's good of "Disgusted" to be concerned that services are less than optimum, it's not very helpful just to write a letter to the local paper. Her time would have been better spent by offering practical help, say to the Cats Protection League.

ANGELA GRAHAM,

Lakeland Crescent,

Bury.

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