3 SEPTEMBER 1994, Page 30

Sir: I have just read the article on rabies and

the quarantine system (Mad dogs and Englishmen', 20 August). It has resolved me to try and change the dietary habits of a nation, to modestly propose that a cam- paign be started encouraging us all to abstain from eating British bovines, replac- ing the aforementioned meat with the flesh of continental canines. As the author of the piece says, 'Perhaps it is better to err on the safe side, to take excessive precautions rather than risk a nasty disease.'

James Eyre

9 Cranmer Road, Cambridge.