I FULLY agree with the RSPCA's policy on people wanting pets having to first look at pictures and be subject to a home visit before seeing what is available.

Does Claire Baron not realise that a large percentage of the animals under their care have been abused or cruelly treated (Letters, June 24)?

Does she want the animals to go back into a similar situation? That is why the RSPCA has adopted this policy to ensure the animal is found a suitable home and the animal is right for the intended owner.

Many people who get animals take them as toys either for themselves or their children then discard them like an item of old clothing when they have lost interest.

I have taken dogs from the RSPCA and given them a good home to the end of their days.

I have one dog, Max, which I got from the RSPCA and when he dies it will once again break our heart, but I would get another, accepting all the procedures the RSPCA follow and knowing this is done for the benefit of the animal.

Stop living in a fantasy world and realise that we, so-called, humans can be very cruel. Only those with their heads in the sand criticise the RSPCA for doing a good job.

Don Dent,

Sutton-upon-Derwent, York.

...I don't think so

I CANNOT for the life of me understand the rationalisation behind the thinking of the RSPCA.

Having just lost Muffin, a much loved family pet cat, my son and his family, like Claire Baron, felt they could provide a loving home for another cat from the RSPCA.

However, they were refused without even a home visit on the grounds that they did not have a cat flap, which Muffin had happily lived without for years and, regardless of the fact that my son does not live near a main road, has a lovely home and garden and the family are all animal lovers.

What more could a cat want? Apparently a cat flap.

The Cats Protection League, having made a home visit, were happy to re-home a cat to my son's family, so the outcome is one contented ex-Cats Protection cat and one RSPCA animal still awaiting a good home.

While animal charities have to ensure, as far as possible, a rosy future for those animals in their care, the rules applied by the RSPCA are too rigid, resulting in fewer animals finding good homes.

Commonsense, intuition and a little bending of the rules should apply in some cases.

P E Baker,

Micklegate, York.

Updated: 11:00 Friday, July 01, 2005