Defence from whom?
There can be no better example of the paranoia inherent in Scottish nationalism than in Richard McHarg's letter (The Herald, April 21). He asks who is more likely to defend Scotland. Defend from whom? Who do he and his fellow nationalists think is out to get us?

He also asserts the SNP mantra that anyone opposing the break-up of the UK does so because he or she thinks the people of Scotland are "too stupid" or are too addicted to subsidies from England to go it alone; he simply cannot see that others feel just as strongly in the worth of the UK as he does in the worth of breaking up Britain. If Scottish people need defending, it is from this kind of absurd thinking. - Alexander McKay, 8/7 New Cut Rigg, Edinburgh.

Polling-station chaos
As A prophet I am usually a dead loss but I forecast there will be chaos at the forthcoming elections. To have introduced two different methods of voting at one time will cause chaos in the polling stations, particularly with the elderly and those having poor eyesight. The likely winners of the election may be spoiled papers. - Fred McDermid, 8 Boghall Street, Stonehouse.

There is much more to angling than actually catching fish
I must highlight, in view of the recent comments on The Herald's Letters page regarding angling, that there is much more to fishing than catching fish, eg wild flowers on the river bank, delicate flies dancing in shafts of sunlight, moorhens, ducks, herons fishing and deer drinking at the water's edge, foxes, contemplation time, problem-solving, the need for patience, peace and quiet, sunlight dancing on rippling water, sunset over the water, the wonders of nature.

No fish caught because you're doing so many other things and not concentrating on the fishing! - John S Milligan, 86 Irvine Road, Kilmarnock.

Grim reality of sport'
I am sure many readers were saddened to learn of the 14-year-old boy who was nearly killed while "fighting" bulls in Mexico (The Herald, April 18). It seems the bullfighting industry is happy to exploit children as well as innocent animals for this sick "entertainment".

Bulls are often tortured and deliberately debilitated before a bullfight by being beaten, drugged and kept in the dark. Once released into the ring they are subjected to unimaginable cruelty using lances, swords and knives. Finally, their ears and tails are cut off as trophies for the matadors. Often the bulls are still alive as they are tied by the horns and dragged out of the ring. This is the grim reality of bullfighting, which kills around 10,000 animals each year.

Fortunately, many tourists now turn their back on this ugly tradition - but there remain enough visitors to keep it alive. I would appeal to anybody going abroad to please avoid all "sports" that involve the cruel exploitation of animals. - Ross Minett, Director, Advocates for Animals, 10 Queensferry Street, Edinburgh.

Unsuccessful strategy
It seems the London-based unionist parties are convinced that wheeling up their so-called heavyweights to Scotland to denigrate the SNP is a successful campaign strategy. If the opinion polls are to be believed, the strategy is not very successful.

New Labour has Brown and Blair frequenting Scotland almost every second day, and Jack McConnell is relegated to a humiliating bit-part in the proceedings. This only reinforces the perception in the minds of most Scots that Mr McConnell is regarded by Brown and Blair and the other London-based New Labour strategists as totally inadequate for the task. It also has the negative effect of reminding people of the Iraq war and the bloody carnage wreaked as a consequence of Blair's intervention in that benighted country on the coat-tails of George Bush.

Scots also know that Brown, in his best Macavity fashion, bankrolled that disastrous escapade and is responsible in a large part for the current crisis in the pensions industry.

In the case of David Cameron, the Tories are an irrelevance in this election since they have ruled out any involvement in a Scottish Executive and are generally not trusted by the electorate because of their past record.

As for the LibDems, they are the harlots of Scottish politics, jumping into bed with whichever party is likely to concede ministerial cars. The stiff and rather awkward intervention of the aging Ming Campbell has the air of trying to ape the actions of the Tories and New Labour, and give the party the false impression of being more important than it actually is. - Dr Colin MacLeod, Yesnaby, Goathill Road, Stornoway