Training animals to do things they wouldn’t do naturally is cruel (Dujardin’s career in tatters after horse whipping costs her damehood and funding, 24 July). Nobody today approves of the chimpanzees’ tea party, which is hardly different from the fancy dress dressage which for some reason is an Olympic “sport”.
Peter Dewar
London
• I was interested to read the precautions that GB triathletes are taking before swimming in the Seine (Report, 23 July). While at Aberystwyth University in the early 1970s, we would go surfing near Aberystwyth harbour, which at the time was very polluted. Our precautions included yoghurt, mouthwash and Coca-Cola, and we would always smoke a cigarette after surfing, to protect our lungs!
Richard Bamber
Praa Sands, Cornwall
