Bea Bradley asked why religious leaders aren’t rallying against the ‘blasphemy of blood sports’ because ...all life was created by a loving God”.

She’s illogical in thinking God sides with her.

“Thou shalt not kill” was for humans, not animals; otherwise he wouldn’t have given us carnivorous abilities.

Bernadette Downes chastised my light-hearted ‘feeding of the 5,000’ letter (February 16) proving Jesus was not a vegetarian, when she mistakenly suggested original Christians chopped off hands and stoned people. But Hugh Jaeger (March 9) then accused practising Catholic Bernadette of “deliberately smearing Christianity”.

He dismissed my humour as sarcasm, but Matthew 14:13-21 is strong enough to take a gentle ribbing. But why did he quote an Old Testament passage – of Jewish priest origin – to support Christian ethics, rather than a New Testament one?

Newer versions of the Bible are changed to suit social political control mechanisms of that time and place, sadly resulting in a sort of written Chinese whispers.

Nowhere do I support intensively farmed meat. In fact my previous letters have extolled the advantage of Taiwanese fresh natural meat and fish over our inferior products. Give me organic rabbit stew or my daughter’s vegetarian dishes – now that’s a balanced diet.

Mick Heavey

Oxford Road

Old Marston

Oxford