Three unconnected articles in the Mercury (December 18) prompted me to consider some of the inconsistences in our thoughts and actions.

The first concerned a baby beaver nursed back to health by the loving care of staff at a wildlife centre.

The second was advice to owners of pet rabbits from the RSPCA on taking care of them during the winter.

The third was an article with the headline "We will gobble up geese".

I wondered why some animals are treated with care and compassion, and others are mere commodities.

Earlier in the year, there was a public outcry when swans were shot with an air rifle, but there isn't a murmur at Christmas, a time of peace and goodwill, at the mass slaughter of 10 million turkeys.

On the one hand, much time, expertise and money is spent on some animals to keep them alive and healthy, while others are manipulated, abused and forced to live in misery just to end up on our plates.

The greatest inconsistency is the overabundance and overindulgence of dead animals to celebrate the birth of our Saviour, who obviously wasn't the survivor of many of the animals which share this Earth with us.

Elizabeth Allison, Leicester.