Those lion cubs

Sir,
Lion cubs and the RSPCA! Really, Mr. Boddy! Perhaps I should feel honoured that Motoring’s Malcolm Muggeridge sees fit to aim his faltering lance at my windmill. In fact, I feel sorry.

There are more important issues at the Motor Show needing constructive criticism. For example, should Motor Show press day be devoted to gimmickry of any form? Should nude girls take precedence over cars? Should there be a Motor Show at all?

All these questions could have been considered by Mr. Boddy’s—usually—incisive pen. But, then, we are told that even Homer nods.

Raymond Playfoot.
London, SW19.

[First paragraph—ask the lion cubs! Second and third paragraphs —see page 1275 in this issue.—Ed.]

***
Sir,
As Chairman of the Homeless Animals Division of the RSPCA Headquarters, London, and therefore obviously an ardent animal lover, a keen and enthusiastic motorist and a reader of your excellent journal for many years (in that order of priority) and having read your comments in the November edition of BMW re their most distasteful method of promotion at this year’s Motor Show, I felt that perhaps this was an opportune moment to remind your many readers, whom I have no doubt agreed wholeheartedly with your sentiments, that a number of them are responsible every day for causing considerably more suffering to animals and birds than the two lion cubs in question were subjected to.

Let me hasten to add that by this statement I do not mean that we condone the use of animals as advertising media in this way, but rather to offer a comparison with the motorist who whilst driving his car hits a dog, cat, bird, even a rabbit or hedgehog (every creature feels pain), and then because of either time or simply lack of guts carries on leaving the creature to die on the road rather than to put it out of its misery or pick it up and take it to the nearest police station or vet.

Comparisons, as the saying goes, are odious but, sir, with the hundreds of such incidents occurring every day and night I do feel that there is a question of priorities to be considered and that perhaps you will find space to print this letter for it is certain that unfortunately some readers who sympathised with the two lion cubs will have the opportunity of putting their sympathy to a more practical test in the not too far distant future, and should they heed my urgent plea for sympathy on such an occasion then this letter will not have been printed in vain.

R. J. Crisp.
Chairman of the Homeless Animals Division, RSPCA.
London, SW1.