Letters

LETTER 1 – GOODBYE TO EGGS

For years I have been eating two cage-free eggs a week. After reading the short article Egg Fetishes, I am through eating eggs of any kind.

J.A. Hyra, Los Angeles , CA

LETTER 2 - DOWNSIDE OF WIND POWER

The article "Wind Farms" by Lee Hall is an excellent review of the pros and cons of wind power.  Nowhere mentioned, however, are the intrinsic negative effects of sapping the energy of wind itself.  Is it possible that Lee Hall is unaware of this problem, or does Lee simply choose to ignore it?

Via e-mail, Gene Brewer

LETTER 4 - ELECTRIC FENCE A SAFE OPTION

I am writing to complain about your article "Where Good Intentions Breed Animal Suffering" (Autumn 2007, ActionLine).

After many months of failed containment methods for my dog, I also bought an electric fence and collar.  We went through many frustrating and stressful times with our dog, who even after training by many professionals, would chew through chain link fencing, and a heavy duty crate.  We cannot be home at all times to supervise our dog, who we love dearly, and she was slowly working her way around our home and destroying everything in sight.  We tried everything, because like you, I did not want to use a shock collar for fear that it would hurt her.  We tried taking her for extremely long walks, we tried professional training, we tried to give her bones and kongs and everything else to keep her mind off the idea that we were gone.  We tried talking to our vet, who said that separation anxiety medication was not for our pet. 

Finally, we tried an electric fence. We use the electric fence in conjunction with our already four foot high chain link fence that our dog used to jump over. I completely disagree with almost everything in your article.  I myself put the electrodes to my neck to feel how bad the shock would be before I put it on my dog, just so you know my dog and I are about the same weight, I am small and she is very large, and the shock was only slightly scary, not harmful. 

My dog is so much happier, she gets to run all around our yard everyday and she is much safer than anytime before, when she would jump the fence and could potentially put herself in car paths and other dog's paths.  She only had to shock herself once and she doesn't go anywhere near where the beeping starts.  She is not stressed out, she does not scratch at the collar or cry out, she is much happier than she was in a kennel or in a crate, or even left inside our house. 

I love animals and I am going to college for a major in zoology, to help with conservation efforts.  Sometimes an electric fence is the only safe method left for people with certain dogs, and I think that using this fence is much safer than leaving a dog in a fenced in yard that she can jump over. 

Via e-mail