15 APRIL 2006, Page 21

Bird talk

From Mark Attwater

Sir: Charles Moore’s analysis of a sparrowhawk’s motives for killing a jay (The Spectator’s Notes, 8 April) possessed the type of ill-considered sentimentality I would normally expect from a representative of Peta or some other soft-headed animal welfare group. Sparrowhawks are no more evil than bunny rabbits are kind.

Mark Attwater Reading, Berkshire