AS an animal lover and a regular viewer of 'Pet Rescue' and any other programme concerning animals, I am appalled at the numbers of unwanted dogs and cats which are pregnant when they are brought into rescue centres throughout the country.

I am puzzled why, when discovering an unwanted dog or cat is pregnant, neither the RSPCA nor any other organisation committed to the welfare of animals is prepared to abort these pregnancies.

They prefer, instead, to further increase the volume of animals needing homes and often going to great lengths and expense in keeping sickly puppies and kittens alive which are obviously in distress and would have been better off not being brought into the world in the first place.

Human babies are aborted on a regular basis every day without a scrap of sentimentality, often for no other reason than their birth would be an untimely inconvenience. Why then, are lost dogs and cats in rescue centres made to go through the birth process?

Surely, it would be kinder and more sensible for vets to anaesthetise these animals and abort the tens of thousands of unwanted puppies and kittens than expend their time and resources in finding the mother a good home, after she has first been neutered to prevent further pregnancies.

This would reduce the distressing number of unwanted animals significantly.

Perhaps the RSPCA can provide an answer.

SYLVIA NOBLE (MRS), Albert Road, Colne.

Converted for the new archive on 14 July 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.