The actions of Jennifer Gilbert and Lisa Webster are without a doubt kind hearted but I feel they are totally wrong headed.

Twenty-eight people in the locality have given homes to these dogs which to me means that 28 dogs who could have been homed are still sitting in rescue centres at Battersea Dogs and Cats Home,the RSPCA, the Dogs Trust, Croydon Animal Samaritans or any other Rescue Centre small or large up and down the UK who are all heaving with unwanted abandoned or ill treated dogs and cats who were bred right here in the UK.

They are all charities and need donations to do the work they do.

Are your readers aware that stray dogs are also being sent to the UK from Spain and Greece? We really need to sort out our problems in this country before taking dogs from the continent. 

For example, Channel 4, in a Despatches programme last year highlighted the case of a puppy that ended up in Scotland after being transported from Morocco via Spain and the channel tunnel and turned out to have Rabies.

These dogs from Romania will at the very least have psychological problems if not physical ones. I have two rescue dogs, the younger came from our local Animal Rescue Centre, Riverside in Beddington Park. She was believed to be about a year old when I got her, and already had given birth to puppies which from her body condition had only recently been weaned. She is believed to be a jack russell x chihuahua so she is tiny, and she was tied to some railings in Banstead and abandoned.

My older one, a shih tzu x bichon frise, was given up as a puppy as the elderly lady who bought him could not cope with a puppy. They are both adorable, both neutered and microchipped and very much loved.

I support Battersea with a monthly Direct Debit out of my pension because of the excellent work they do in the cause of animal welfare.

The problem needs dealing with by educating owners that it is not cute or fun to let them have a litter and hope for the best in finding homes for them. Dog breeders should be licensed and properly controlled and heavy financial penalties imposed on people who allow indiscriminate breeding. Bringing more dogs into the country from abroad is not the answer.

I am sorry this is a long letter but this is something I feel very strongly about.

Janet Kiff; Carshalton